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MAJOR GENERAL DANIEL GOOKIN 



Edition two hundred and two 
numbered copies, of which this 
is Number 



DANIEL GOOKIN 

1612-1687 

ASSISTANT AND MAJOR GENERAL 
OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY 

HIS LIFE AND LETTERS 

AND SOME ACCOUNT OF 

HIS ANCESTRY 



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BY 



FREDERICK WILLIAM GOOKIN 



CHICAGO 

PRIVATELY PRINTED 

1912 





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COPYRIGHT, I912 

FREDERICK WILLIAM GOOKIN 



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CCLA3 4.JOGS ^ 



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TO THE MEMORY OF 

JOHN WINGATE THORNTON 

DESCENDANT 
AND ARDENT ADMIRER OF 

DANIEL GOOKIN 



PREFACE 




HAT no extended biography of Daniel Gookin 
has heretofore been published is without doubt 
attributable to the paucity of the available mate- 
rial. About 1840 Mr. John Wingate Thornton 
began to gather information about his distin- 
guished ancestor, and in 1847 the facts he had 
been able to get together were embodied in an 
article upon "The Gookin Family," printed that year in the 
first volume of "The New England Historical and Genealogi- 
cal Register." For more than thirty years Mr. Thornton was 
an eager gleaner of every item he could discover concerning 
the " grand old American patriarch and sage." Though, to his 
deep regret, he was unable to carry out his design of writing 
a life of Daniel Gookin, by his early researches he laid a foun- 
dation for which I am greatly indebted. 

It is now thirty-six years since Mr. Thornton resigned his 
cherished task to my hands and I began the collection of data 
for the present work. In the scant leisure of a busy life this 
has been necessarily a slow process ; and it is only within 
recent years that a considerable part of the information I 
sought has come to light. The more important facts of Gen- 
eral Gookin's career are well known, but it has proved a 
difficult matter to supplement them with the mass of lesser 
items without which a well-rounded portrait could not be 
presented. Such a portrait I have endeavoured to prepare, 
but I am deeply sensible of many deficiencies. I have used the 
utmost care to secure accuracy of detail, and I can only hope 
that mistakes are few. Such as it is, the book is offered as a 
tribute to the memory of Daniel Gookin on the three-hun- 
dredth anniversary of his birth. It forms a part of an extended 
history of the Gookin family, other portions of which I hope 
to print at some future time. 

The armorial bearings that appear in the head bands I 
have drawn for the several chapters are those of a number of 

ix 



X PREFACE 

General Gookin's ancestors, and also the coats borne by his 
brother, John Gookin, and his uncle, Sir Vincent Gookin. 

I desire here to make grateful acknowledgement to the 
many people who have contributed information or in one way 
or another have helped in the work of gathering material. It 
is impracticable to mention all by name, but I wish in particu- 
lar to record my indebtedness to my wife for her very efficient 
assistance, to Miss Elizabeth Thornton for the family papers 
collected by her father and for her constant interest in my 
progress, to Mr. Lincoln N. Kinnicutt for his generous encour- 
agement of the publication, to Mr. Charles T. Tatman for the 
photograph of General Gookin's sword now in his possession, 
to Mr. Hichard B. Townshend and Dr. Lyon G. Tyler for 
transcripts of documents, and to Mr. W. P. W. Phillimore and 
Mr. J. Henry Lea for aid in my researches in England. 



Frederick William Gookin. 



13 West Walton Place, Chicago, 
November 23, 191 2. 



CONTENTS 

PART I. THE ANCESTORS OF DANIEL GOOKIN 

CHAPTER I 

Fourth in descent from Arnold Gookin — The ancient Kentish families of Cokyn 
and Colkin — Early variations in the spelling of Gookin — Thomas Gookin of 
Bekesbourne — The Durrant family — Children of Thomas Gookin and Amy 
Durrant — The families of Denne, Tupton, and Hever — John Gookin of Rip- 
ple — Marriage and removal to Appleton — Removal to Little Betteshanger — 
Subscribes to Armada defense fund — Acquisition of Manor of Ripple 
Court — Children of John Gookin and Catherine Denne — Grant of Armorial 
bearings 3 

CHAPTER II 

The sons of John Gookin — Friendship between his sons Thomas and John — The 
widow of Thomas alienates her husband's family — The education of gentle- 
men's sons — Daniel Gookin's marriage to Mary Byrd — Rev. Richard Byrd — 
His education and early benefices — Tutor to Lord Burghley's grandson — In 
Paris with his charge — Young Cecil turns Papist — Letter to Burghley com- 
plaining of cruel treatment by English Ambassador — Archdeacon of Cleveland 

— Canon of Canterbury Cathedral — Byrd's father-in-law Bishop Meye — Mar- 
riage to Amy Vowell — Education — Master of St. Catherine's Hall, Cambridge 

— Archdeacon East Riding of Yorkshire — Friendship of Earl of Shrewsbury 

— Appointed Bishop of Carlisle — Censured by the Puritans — Impoverished 
by relieving distress of poor people — Dies of plague — The families of Vowell, 
Hymerford, Copleston, and Fauntleroy 15 

PART II. DANIEL GOOKIN OF CARRIGALINE 

CHAPTER III 

Early life — His brother Vincent settles in Ireland — Munster at beginning of sev- 
enteenth century — Daniel removes to Coolmain, county Cork — Death of his 
mother — Ripple Court turned over to his brother Thomas — John Gookin 
joins his son Daniel in Ireland — Daniel buys Manor of Carrigaline from 
Thomas Petley — Rival claim of Earl of Cork — Daniel sells Carrigaline to 
Cork and takes lease for twenty-two years — Shareholder in Virginia Company 
— The Longford plantation — Daniel sells to Francis Edgeworth . . 29 

CHAPTER IV 

Projects plantation in Virginia — Contract with 'Virginia Company for transport of 
cattle — Sails for Virginia in "The Flyinge Harte" — Arrival at Newport News 

— Rejoicing by Company in London at good news — The Indian Massacre of 
March, 1622 — Daniel alone refuses order of concentration — Governor Wyatt 
his guest — Sails for England in the "Sea Flower" — Arrives in London bring- 
ing news of massacre — Obtains patent to Newport News plantation — Names 
it Marie's Mount — Takes share in New England Company — Dispatches the 
Providence to Virginia — An unprofitable venture — Muster of his Servants at 
Marie's Mount 38 

xi 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER V 

Attends meetings of Virginia Company — Death of his father — Fails to secure pat- 
ent — Death of brother Thomas Gookin — Witness in suit of Thomas Milton 
vs. Jane Gookin — Wife Mary obtains loan from Lord Cork — Lease of Carriga- 
line sold to Lord Cork — Vincent Gookin knighted at Dublin — Daniel secures 
patent to Saint Brandan's Isle — Dies in City of Cork — Inventory of his effects 
— His children — Death of his mother at Bitton, Gloucestershire — His son John 
in Virginia — Marries Sarah Offley, widow of Captain Thorowgood — Dies at 
Lynn Haven — Widow marries Colonel Francis Yardley .... 49 



PART III. DANIEL GOOKIN OF CAMBRIDGE 

CHAPTER VI 

Boyhood at Carrigaline — Early visit to Virginia — Granted 2500 acres land on 
James River — Sale of Marie's Mount plantation — Marriage to Mary Dolling 
— Military Service — Return to Virginia — Captain of Upper Norfolk trained 
band — Granted 1400 acres on Rappahannock River — Signs Nansemond peti- 
tion inviting Puritan ministers from New England — Tompson, Knowles, and 
James sail for Virginia — Cool reception by Governor Berkeley — Statute of 
conformity passed — Cotton Mather upon Tompson's mission — Daniel decides 
to leave Virginia — Acquires land in Maryland — Sails for Boston . . 61 

CHAPTER VII 

Arrival at Boston — Admitted to First Church — Residence in Roxbury — Friend- 
ship with Rev. John Eliot formed — Daniel's other neighbors and associates — 
Trade with Maryland and Virginia 72 

CHAPTER VIII 

Buys house in Cambridge — Granted farm at Shawshine — Captain of Cambridge 
trained band. — Distinguished residents of Cambridge — Chosen Deputy to the 
General Court — Visit to England in 1650 — Relatives then living — Again 
elected Deputy — Chosen Speaker — Elected an Assistant, or one of the Council 
of Magistrates — Assists Eliot in the work of Christianizing the Indians . 78 

CHAPTER IX 

Sails for England in autumn of 1654 — Changed conditions since last visit — Crom- 
well intent upon project for colonization of Jamaica — Daniel sent for and com- 
missioned to urge New England colonists to remove thither — Instructions given 
him by the Council of State 85 

CHAPTER X 

Enters upon task reluctantly — Fate of Major Sedgwick's regiment — Daniel arrives 
at Boston on the Fraternity — Letters to Secretary Thurloe — Journey to Con- 
necticut and New Haven colonies — Discouraging news from Jamaica makes 
his effort futile — Writes Secretary Thurloe his work at an end — Requests per- 
mission to return to England — Report of heavy mortality among the Nevis 
planters stops further efforts 92 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER XI 

Again sails for England, November, 1657 — A narrow escape from losing his life — 
The state of England — Cromwell's death — Appointed Collector of Customs at 
Dunkirk — Appointed Deputy Treasurer at War — The Restoration — Daniel 
sails for home — Whalley and Goffe his fellow passengers — Arrival at Boston — 
The regicides at Cambridge — The controversy with the King's Commis- 
sioners — Daniel refuses to answer before them 104 

CHAPTER XII 

Granted 500 acres in the Pequot country — Rival claimants from Rhode Island — 
Daniel petitions the Commissioners — Sells the land to Simon Lynde — Granted 
another farm near Concord — The extent of his public service and other employ- 
ments — Refuses appointment as licenser of the press — Takes part in public 
debate with the Anabaptists iii 

CHAPTER XIII 

Opens negotiations for purchase of colony of Maine — Letter to Ferdinand© Gorges — 
Interference by the Royal Commissioners — Letter to the Hon. Robert Boyle — 
Final report of the purchase of the Gorges claim 117 

CHAPTER XIV 

Daniel's work among the Indians — His estimate of Eliot's efforts to Christianize 
them — Daniel his constant associate and coadjutor — Appointed Superintendent 
of the Praying Indians — The nature of his work in this office — His compensa- 
tion — Eliot writes the Commissioners of the Corporation for Propagating the 
Gospel among the Indians in New England — Daniel's account of a journey 
to the Nipmuck country in company with Eliot — Correspondence with Gover- 
nor Prince 126 

CHAPTER XV 

The outbreak of King Philip's War — Unheeded warning given by Daniel Gookin 

— He urges defensive measures — Advises utilizing the Christian Indian — Panic- 
stricken frenzy of the colonists — Their rage against Gookin — His firm stand — 
A Boston Merchant's letter to London 141 

CHAPTER XVI 

Calumnies echoed from other colonies — The Christian Indians removed to Deer 
Island — A winter visit to Concord — The fidelity of the Indians — Gookin and 
Danforth warned — The case of Richard Scott — The Christian Indians at last 
employed against the enemy — Daniel effects release of Mrs. Rowlandson from 
captivity — Eliot, Gookin, and Danforth run down in Boston harbor . 149 

CHAPTER XVII 

The election in 1676 — Daniel not returned as an Assistant — General Court appoints 
him Major of the Middlesex Regiment — His activity in raising troops for serv- 
ice in the field — The Indians removed from Deer Island — Eliot and Gookin 
resume their work among them — An attempt to run down Thomas Danforth 

— Revulsion of feeling — Daniel again chosen Assistant .... 156 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Daniel writes Historical Account of the Doings and Sufferings of the Christian 
Indians — His Historical Collections of the Indians in New England — His 
History of New England — His equipment for this undertaking — The manu- 
script burned — A third tract i6i 

CHAPTER XIX 

The "Father of Worcester" — Preliminaries of Quinsigamond settlement — Daniel 
at head of Committee — Visit to the site — Work interrupted by Indian war — 
Renewed in 1683 — Town named Worcester — Conjectured reasons for the 
name — Close relation between Cromwell and several members of the Gookin 
family — Daniel's constant interest in the settlement 166 

CHAPTER XX 

Controversy over charter privileges — Divergent views in the colony — Daniel opposes 
sending agents to England — Opposes submission to the acts of trade — Makes 
written protest — Radical party in the ascendant — Daniel hailed as people's 
champion — Appointed Major General of the colony — Incurs Randolph's 
enmity — The abrogation of the charter 171 

CHAPTER XXI 

Death of Mrs. Gookin — Children of Daniel Gookin and Mary Dolling — Marriage 
to Mrs. Hannah Savage — Zeal in Indian work unabated — Illegal sale of liquor 
to Indians — General Gookin's last illness and death — Eliot solicits gift for his 
widow from Robert Boyle — Daniel's will — Declaration of his religious faith 
— His homestead in Cambridge — Inventory of estate — Death of Mrs. Hannah 
Gookin 179 

CHAPTER XXII 

Esteem of contemporaries — Nobility of character — Literary style — Originates doc- 
trine "No taxation without representation" — George Bishop's railing — Daniel 
a just judge — The case of Silvanus Warro — Controversy with Caleb Grant — 
Justice Sewall's dream of Daniel Gookin 192 

Index 199 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Armorial bearings of Major General Daniel Gookin : arms of Gookin 
quartering Durrant Frontispiece 

Arms of Gookin : Gules, a chevron ermine, between three cocks, or. 

Headband to Chapter I 3 

St. Augustine's Church, Northbourne, Kent, and Interior of the old 

church, Ripple, Kent 10 

Armorial bearings granted John Gookin, Esquire, of Ripple Court, 

in 1609 12 

Seal of Major General Daniel Gookin 14 

Arms of Durrant of Littlebourne, Kent: sable, a cross-crosslet, 

ermine. Headband to Chapter H 15 

Hatchment used at the funeral of Thomas Gookin, Esquire, of Rip- 
ple Court, in January 1 625 : arms of Gookin quartering Durrant 
and impaling Thurston; argent, on a bend, gules, three mullets, 
or, in chief a bear (?), gules 16 

Arms of Denne of Denne Hill, Kent: azure, three leopard's heads 

couped at the neck, or. Headband to Chapter HI ... 29 

Dovecote at Ripple Court built by General Gookin's cousin, John 

Gookin, Esquire, in 1647 30 

Arms of Byrd of Saffron Walden, Essex: quarterly, argent and 
sable, in the chief dexter quarter an eagle, sable. Headband to 
Chapter IV 38 

Arms of Meye as borne by Bishop John Meye: sable, a chevron, 
or, between three cross-crosslets fitchee, argent; on a chief, or, 
three roses. Headband to Chapter V 49 

Arms of Daniel Gookin of Carrigaline, Cork: arms of Gookin quar- 
tering Durrant, and impaling Byrd. Headband to Chapter VI . 61 

Arms of Canon Richard Byrd: arms of Byrd impaling Meye. 

Headband to Chapter VII 72 

Arms of Tufton of Northiam, Sussex : argent, on a pale, sable, an 

eagle, argent. Headband to Chapter VIII 78 

Arms of Hever of Cranbrook, Kent: gules, a cross, argent, a label 

of five, azure. Headband to Chapter IX 85 

Arms of Nicholas Tufton, Esquire, of Northiam, Sussex: arms of 
Tufton with arms of Hever on an inescutcheon. Headband 
to Chapter X 92 

XV 



xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facsimile of letter from Daniel Gookin to Secretary Thurloe . . 96 

Jamaica colonization handbill circulated by Daniel Gookin . . 98 

Arms of Apuldrefield of Ottreply in Challock, Kent: quarterly, 
1st and 4th, sable, a cross voided, or, 2d and 3d, ermine, a bend, 
vaire, or and gules. Headband to Chapter XI . . . . 104 

Arms of Fauntleroy of Fauntleroy's Marsh, Dorset : gules, three 
infant's heads couped at the shoulders, proper, crined or. Head- 
band to Chapter XII Ill 

Arms of Dryland of Kent : gules, guttee d'eau, a fess wavy, argent. 

Headband to Chapter XIII • . . I17 

Arms of Hymerford of East Coker, Somerset: argent, a chevron 

between three drakes, sable. Headband to Chapter XIV . .126 

Arms of Copleston of Copleston, Devon : argent, a chevron engrailed, 
gules, between three leopard's faces, azure. Headband to Chap- 
ter XV 141 

Arms of William Hymerford of East Coker: arms of Hymerford with 

arms of Copleston on an inescutcheon. Headband to Chapter XVI 149 

Placard threatening the lives of Daniel Gookin and Thomas Danf orth 1 54 

Arms of Vowell of Wells, Somerset: gules, three escutcheons, 
argent, each charged with a cinquefoil, azure. Headband to 
Chapter XVII .... 156 

Arms of William Vowell of Creake Abbey, Norfolk: arms of 
Vowell, with arms of //>'w^r/«r^ quartering Copleston on an ines- 
cutcheon. Headband to Chapter XVIII 161 

Arms of Ashhurst of Ashhurst, Kent: gules, a cross engrailed, or, in the 

chief dexter quarter a fleur de lys, or. Headband to Chapter XIX 166 

General Gookin's rapier, and cane carried by his grandson, Daniel 

Gookin of Worcester, Massachusetts . . . . . . . 168^"^^ 

Arms of General Gookin's grandfather, John Gookin, Esquire, of 
Ripple Court: arms of Gcij^m quartering Z)«rr««/ and impaling 
Define. Headband to Chapter XX 171 

Arms of John Gookin of Lynn Haven, Virginia : arms of Gookin quar- 
tering Durrant?iX\d. impaling Offley, argent, on a cross pattee flory, 
azure, between four Cornish choughs, a lion passant guardant, 
or. Headband to Chapter XXI .179 

Tomb of Major General Daniel Gookin at Cambridge, Mass. . . 186 

Arms of Sir Vincent Gookin, Knight, of Courtmacsherry, Cork : arms 
of Gookifi impaling arms of Crooke; a fess engrailed between three 
eagles, tinctures not known. Headband to Chapter XXII . . 192 

Letter of Daniel Gookin to Captain Wade 196 



PART I 
THE ANCESTORS OF DANIEL GOOKIN 




CHAPTER I 




ANIEL GOOKIN, the subject of this memoir, 
was the third son of Daniel Gookin of Carriga- 
line, Ireland, and the fourth in descent from 
Arnold Gookin, who, in the reign of King Henry 
VIII, lived in Ickham, a parish in the county of 
Kent, lying about five miles to the east and a 
little to the north of the city of Canterbury. 
Nothing is certainly known concerning Arnold Gookin save 
his place of residence, and, in a general way, the period in 
which he lived. In the pedigree signed by his great grand- 
son Thomas Gookin, which appears in the Visitation of Kent 
in 1619, he is called " Arnoldus Gokin de com. Cantii." And 
in the record preserved at the College of Arms of the bear- 
ings granted to his grandson John Gookin of Ripple Court 
in 1609 by Sir William Segar, Garter King of Arms, he is 
described as "Arnoldus Cokeine alias Gookeine of Ickham 
in Kent." 

Hasted, in his "History of Kent," says that Cokyn's Hos- 
pital in Canterbury was founded in 1 199 by William Cokyn, 
"whose name in his posterity long survived him in this city."^ 
The same authority also states that an aldermanry of Canter- 
bury including the presidency of a ward-mote, or ward-court, 
held every three weeks, was transmitted by inheritance in 
fee, through several generations of Cokyns.^ In the reign of 

1 2nd Edition Canterbury, i8oi, xil, 115-1 16. In Ireland's Kent, i, 133, the name 
is given as John Cokyn. 
^Hasted's Kent, xi, 78. 



4 THE COLKINS OF KENT 

King Edward III one Edmund Cokyn alias Cockayne was 
returned, as a citizen of Canterbury, Member of Parliament at 
Westminster in 1343 and again in 1345 and 1353.^ Another 
citizen of Canterbury named John Colkin built a seat known 
as "Colkins" at Boughton-under-Blean and died possessed of 
it in the tenth year of Edward III (1340): several of his pos- 
terity were buried in the church at Boughton and their arms, 
a griffin segreant, figured in brass upon their tombstones, all 
of which had been "long since destroyed" when Hasted wrote 
his book at the end of the eighteenth century, save only one 
inscribed "Orate pro anima Johannis Colkin, obiit 18 April, 
1405. "2 Under Edward I (1272-1307) the manor of Fred- 
ville or Froidville at Nonington, a few miles northwest of 
Dover, was owned by John Colkin, and it remained in his 
line until the close of the reign of Richard II (circa 1399)^ 
Hasted says this family bore a different coat of arms from the 
Boughton family but he does not state what their bearings 
were. 

Although nothing has yet been discovered that throws any 
light upon Arnold Gookin's parentage, the surmise that he 
was the descendant of one or the other of these worthies is 
in accord with all of the circumstances with which we are 
acquainted and appears to be well within the limits of proba- 
bility. In the sixteenth century the spelling of proper names 
was so erratic that inferences drawn therefrom should be 
made with much caution. Nevertheless it is worth noting that 
in the will of Jane Durrant,* dated November 12, 1548, the 
earliest known document in which a member of the Gookin 
family is named, Arnold's son is described as "Thos, Golkyn" 
and as "Thos. Golkyne." In the will of his brother-in-law 
John Durrant, made in 1561, Thomas is called "Thomas Gol- 
kyn" and his wife "Amy Golkin." Five years later the name 
appears upon the Bekesbourne Parish Register as "Goolkyn" 
and "Goolken"; while in 1587 the Rector of Northbourne 

^ Hasted's Kent, xi, 48. 

^Hasted's Kent, vii, II, 14-15 ; Weaver's Ancient Funeral Monuments, 1631, 
p. 274. 

^Ireland's Kent, i, S9S ; Hasted, ix, 257. 
^ See infra p. 6. 



THOMAS GOOKIN OF BEKESBOURNE 5 

thought "Govvkin" the proper form. Upon the Parish Reg- 
ister of Ripple the name occurs eight times between 1571 and 
1582, and in each instance it is spelled **Gookyn." In Thomas 
Gookin's will made in 1595 the spelling "Gookin" appears 
for the first time so far as our present knowledge extends. 
Thomas signed the will with a cross, which may have been 
because he had not learned to write, but was, perhaps, because 
of the infirmity of old age. His grandson Thomas Gookin 
wrote the name Gokin. This is the only known variation from 
the normal spelling that has ever been made by a member 
of the family; to others, however, the name has always pre- 
sented strange difficulty from the sixteenth century down to 
the present day.^ 

As two of Arnold Gookin's grandchildren were married in 
1566, the date of his birth must have been some time in the 
reign of King Henry VII. His only child of whom there is 
record was his son Thomas, born at least as early as 1518, 
and probably several years before that. Thomas Gookin 
lived in Bekesbourne, which lies three miles from Canterbury 
in an easterly direction, the parishes of Littlebourne and Ick- 
ham adjoining it to the north and northeast. His wife, whom 
he married about 1538, though perhaps some years earlier, 
was Amy Durrant. She was the daughter of John Durrant 
of Littlebourne, who, as appears from the churchwarden's 
accounts for that parish, was one of the tenants of the Court 
Lodge at the time of the Reformation. He bore the arms: 
Sable, a cross-crosslet ermine. Dying before 1548 he left, 
besides his daughter Amy, an only surviving son, John Dur- 
rant, who was the owner of the ancient seat of Howlets or 
Owlets in the extreme northeastern angle of Bekesbourne 
close to the Ickham line in a vale facing the downs and not 
far from Littlebourne. The younger John Durrant was a 
rich man. His will, which was dated January 9, 1 560/1, and 
proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury June 5, 
1563, was a voluminous affair, covering no less than twenty 

^The author has noted a long list of variant spellings. Some of the most aston- 
ishing are quite recent; and as he writes these words a letter comes to him addressed 
to Mr. Evokin. 



6 THE DURRANT FAMILY 

pages. From it and the will of his mother, and the Little- 
bourne parish records, we get the following pedigree: 



John Durrant = 
of Littlebourne, 
d. before 1 548. 
Bur, at Littlebourne, 


= Johane .... 
Will Nov, 12, 1548, 
pr, Jan, 19, 1548/9, 
"Her son Richard 
Elgar, executor." 




John Durrant = Ellys Denne, 
of "Owletts," sister of 
obit s. p., buried M ichael 
at Littlebourne, Denne. 
April 16, 1563. 


. . . .Durrant= 
second son, 
d. before 1548. 




Amy 
Durrant 

Thomas 
Golkin. 


Mildred Durrant = ' 


William Swinford. 


Elizabeth Durrant, 
unm. 1561. 



A large portion of the estate of John Durrant the younger 
was devised to his sister Amy, and as he died without issue 
she inherited the Durrant arms, which thus became a part of 
the Gookin coat. 

Amy Gookin died in February, 1 580/1, and was buried on 
the 15th of that month in the churchyard at Bekesbourne.^ 
Two years later Thomas Gookin married again, taking as his 
second wife Sybbell Blacke of Boughton-Aluph, widow. The 
license for this marriage was issued June 22, 1583.2 Fifteen 
years later Sybbell passed away. She was buried at Bekes- 
bourne August 29, 1598. Thomas, who had reached a ripe old 
age, survived her less than a year, and was buried at Bekes- 
bourne June 14, 1599. There were no children by the second 
marriage, but by Amy Durrant Thomas had John Gookin, 
his only son^ and heir, and five daughters, namely: Amy who 
married Robert Syme and had, before 1560, a daughter Alice; 
Thomasin, who married Robert Cowper or Cooper before 
1560; Elizabeth, who married Thomas Long, an alderman of 

^Bekesbourne Parish Register. 

2 Cantab. Mar. Lie. istSer. C. 181. 

•So described in his will, pr. July 7, 1599, Archdeaconry Court, Canterbury. 



A DOUBLE WEDDING 7 

Canterbury; Jhoane, who married John Sanders; and Cicely, 
who was baptized at Ickham January 8, 1558/9, and was buried 
there later in the same month. Amy, Thomasin, and Eliza- 
beth were all older than John. Amy was the oldest and was 
probably born about 1540. John, who was presumably of legal 
age at the time of his marriage, must have come into the world 
as early as 1545. 

On October 28 in the year 1566, the eighth of the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth, a double wedding ceremony was performed 
in the little church at Bekesbourne, John Gookin taking as 
his wife Catherine Denne,^ while his sister Jhoane Gookin was 
married to John Sanders. Catherine Denne was the second 
daughter of William Denne of Kingston, Kent, Esquire, by 
his wife Agnes, daughter of Nicholas Tufton of Northiam 
Place in Sussex, Esquire, ancestor of the Earls of Thanet. 
The Denne family is one of the oldest of the Kentish gentry, 
claiming descent from Robert de Den, pincerna, butler, or 
sewer, to King Edward the Confessor. The following ped- 
igree in which that descent is shown is taken from Berry's 
Kent Genealogies. 2 



Robert de Den or De Dene, pincerna, = 
butler or sewer to Edward the Con- 
fessor. Held large estates in Sussex, 
Kent, and Normandy. Vide Dorset 
MSS., Collin's Peerage, and Harris' 
"Kent." 



Robert de Dene (See Dorset MSS.) = 
. ! 



* There is some reason to think that this was not the first alliance between the 
Gookin and the Denne families. Thomas Gookin of Bekesbourne mentioned in 
his will, "Amy Dens and Elyzabethe Dens my kenswomen. " This points to a con- 
nection prior to the testator's time and suggests the possibility that Arnold Gookin's 
wife or his mother may have been a Denne, or that he may have had a sister who 
married into that family. 

'Pages 269-270. Berry states that the pedigree is registered at the College of 
Arms down to the visitation of 1619. No attempt at verification has been made by 
the author of this memoir. See, however, Hasted ix, 344-46. Notes and Queries 
'»• 473- 



8 



DENNE PEDIGREE 



Ralph de Dene, 20, William the Con- = 
queror, Lord of Buckhurst in Sussex 
See Cotton MSS. and Dugdale'sMon^ 
ast. Angl. 



de Gatton 



Robert de Dene. Held estates in Kent. 
Endowed Bayham Abbey. See Cot- 
ton MSS. 



^Sybylla 



William de Denne, of Denne, parish = 
of Kingston, co. Kent. Lived in time 
of King John. 



Sir Alured Denne of Denne, Knt., Sen-: 
eschal of the Priory of Christ Church, 
Canterbury, and Escheator of County 
of Kent,i9 Henry III (1234). Illus- 
trious for his learning. Ap. by Henry 
III with Sir Henry de Bath to form 
the important laws of Romney Marsh. 
He at this early period sealed with 
three leopard's heads. 



Walter Denne of Denne, s. and heir^ 
as appears by charter dated 41 Henry 
III (1256). 



Walter Denne of Denne. Enfeoffed ^ 
lands in Denne, 9 Edward I (1280). 

I 

John Denne of Denne, 2 Edward II ^ 
(1308). 



Sir William Denne of Denne, Knt., s. 
and heir, 2 Edward III (1328). M. P. 
for Canterbury 19 Edw. II and for 
Kent 14 Edw. III. 



DENNE PEDIGREE 9 

Richard Denne of Denne, son and heir=: Agnes Apuldrefield daughter of 

Apuldrefield of 

Challock, CO. Kent 



Thomas Denne of Denne, son and heir=Isabel de Earde, dau. of Robert 

de Earde 



John Denne of Denne, son and heir —Alice Ardearne, dau. of Richard 

I Ardearne. 



Michael Denne of Denne, eldest son. = Christian Combe, dau. and heir- 

I ess of Combe. 



Thomas Denne of Denne, alias Denne= Alice Eshehurst or Ashhurst. 
Hill, son and heir. I 

William Denne of Kingston, co. Kent, = Agnes Tufton, dau. of Nicholas 



second son. D. 1572. Will pr. at 
Doctor's Commons. 



Tufton^ of Northiam Place, Sus- 
sex. She d. Dec. 30, 1539. 



1. Vincent Denne LL.D., son and heir. D. 1591. Married Jane, dau. 

of ... . Kittall of London, and had five sons. 

2. Thomas Denne of Addisham, Kent, 2d son, barrister-at-law. Mar- 

ried Jane, dau. of John Swift, and had five sons and six daughters. 

3. Mary Denne, eldest daughter. D. Feb. 28, 1599/1600, aged 72. She 

married 1st, John Coppin of Deal, and 2d, about 1589, Thomas 
Boys of Eythorne and Barfriston, Kent. 

4. Catherine Denne, 2d daughter, married October 28, 1 566, to John 

Gookin. 

William Denne of Kingston bore the ancient family coat: 
Azure, three leopard's heads couped at the neck, or. 

^In "Memorials of the Family of Tufton, Earls of Thanet" a shadowy pedigree 
is given, said to be based upon ancient deeds in the possession of the Earl of Thanet, 
carrying the line back to one Elphege de Tolceton, Lord of the Manor of Sileham and 
Toketon, at Rainham, Kent, whose grandson, Sir William deToketon, was knighted 
and living about the latter end of the reign of Henry III. The author of the book, 
which was published at Gravesend in 1800, did not regard the evidence as conclusive. 
Nicholas Tufton died in 1538. His wife was Margaret Hever, daughter and heiress 
of John Hever of Cranbrooke, co. Kent, Esquire, a descendant of the Hevers of 
Hever Castle, co. Kent. 



lo JOHN GOOKIN AT APPLETON 

It is probable that Catherine Denne brought her husband 
a considerable addition to his fortune. The young couple 
remained in Bekesbourne for a little more than a year after 
their marriage and there their eldest daughter was baptized 
on August 28, 1567. Not long after this event they removed 
to Appleton, a short distance South of Walmer, John having 
purchased the lands there now known as Appleton Farms, 
which, prior to the dissolution, had been owned by the Mon- 
astery of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Thomas the Martyr, in 
the adjoining parish of East Langdon. At Appleton John 
and Catherine made their home for fifteen years or more, 
during which their family and their fortune steadily increased. 
Though their lands were in an outlying portion of the parish 
of Waldershare their church affiliation was with the parish 
of Ripple, where six of their children were baptized. Their 
nearest neighbors were the families of Thomas Marsh and 
his brother John Marsh, who lived about a quarter of a mile 
away, near the little hamlet of Marton,^ and Simon Edolph, 
whose seat, St. Radigund's Abbey, was only about a mile to 
the east on a tall hill. In after years all three of these families 
were allied by marriage with that of John Gookin. Mary, his 
third daughter, became, in 1586, the wife of Richard Marsh, 
son of Thomas; in 1610 her youngest sister was married to 
John Marsh's grandson Thomas Marsh; and about a quar- 
ter of a century later still John Gookin's grandson Thomas 
Gookin married Jane Edolph, granddaughter of Simon. 

In February, 1586, John Gookin bought from the heirs of 
Thomas Stoughton, gentleman, of Ash,^ the estate called Lit- 
tle Betteshanger in the western part of the parish of North- 
bourne and removed thither with his family. The distance 
from Appleton was not more than five or six miles, but it 
involved a severance of relations with the church at Ripple and 
their transfer to the church at Northbourne, situated about 
a mile to the east of the new place of residence. Two years 
after this removal, reports of the formation of the Spanish 

^ Now transformed to Martin. The Marsh family is said to have been seated at 
Marton as early as the reign of Edward III. 
^ Pedes Finium, Hilary, 28 Elizabeth. 



PURCHASE OF RIPPLE COURT ii 

armada greatly excited and alarmed the people of England, 
and on January i6, 1588/9 the Queen issued a proclamation 
asking for a loan for the defence of the kingdom in view of 
"the great preparacons made by the Kinge of Spaine both by 
Sea and land the last yere." In the county of Kent there were 
eight subscribers in the month of February and thirty-nine 
in March. Sixth on the latter list was the name of "John 
Gookyn of Norborne, Esq.," who subscribed fifty pounds, 
which was double the sum advanced by most of the other 
gentlemen subscribers.^ 

John was already a rich man when, at the death of his 
father in June, 1599, his fortune was augmented by the inherit- 
ance of the Bekesbourne estate. In the following year or 
soon thereafter, by purchase from John Hales, Esq., of Ten- 
terden he acquired the Manor of Ripple, otherwise known as 
Ripple Court, in the parish of Ripple. According to Hasted 2 
it was a part of the ancient possessions of the abbot and con- 
vent of St. Augustine at Northbourne until the dissolution of 
that establishment, when King Henry VIII, in the thirty-fourth 
year of his reign (1542-43), granted it to Archbishop Cranmer, 
who, not long afterward, in exchange for other lands, recon- 
veyed it to the crown, where it remained until Queen Eliza- 
beth, in or about the year 1599, granted it to John Hales. 
Presumably this grant brought John Gookin a long-cov- 
eted opportunity to establish himself in the principal manor 
in the section wherein he had spent the greater part of his life. 
Ripple Court thus became the family seat and it continued as 
such during three generations. ^ The manor house was situated 
about a mile southwest of Walmer and between two and three 
miles south and east of Northbourne in a fine location on 
the brow of a hill one hundred and seventy-three feet above 
the sea. It probably faced toward the northeast, as does the 
modern mansion built* upon the ancient site, which commands 

iBr. Mus., Stowe MS., 165. 

* History of Kent, ix, 565-67. See also Ireland, i, 647. 

^It was sold in 1668 by John Gookin's grandson and namesake. The vendor's 
sons joined in the conveyance to break the entail. 

* In 1828 by John Baker Sladen, Esq. It is now the residence of his grandson, 
Colonel Joseph Sladen. One only of the ancient buildings is now standing, a dove- 



12 THE CHILDREN OF JOHN GOOKIN 

an extensive view across Sholden Downs and the Lydden val- 
ley and up the coast as far as Ramsgate. 

When John and Catherine Gookin took possession of Rip- 
ple Court only their four youngest children were still living 
beneath the parental roof. Altogether twelve children were 
born to them. Anne, the eldest, probably died in infancy. 
Amy and Mary were presumably twins, born in 1568 or 1569. 
Amy was married in September, 1586, to Ingram Joule, or 
Jewell, of Capel-le-Ferne, Kent; Mary was married twice, her 
first husband being Richard Marsh to whom she was united 
on July 12, 1586, and her second being Thomas Grant of 
Eythorne, the marriage taking place in June, 161 5. Elizabeth, 
the fourth child, was baptized at Ripple, December 7, 1 571, and 
buried July 25, 1575. Thomas, the eldest son and heir, was 
baptized at Ripple, January 13, 1 571/2. John, the second son, 
was baptized at Ripple, August 17, 1575. Next came another 
Elizabeth, baptized at Ripple, November 30, 1578, and married 
January 13, 1595/6 to Clement Swinforde. A son Daniel was 
baptized at Ripple March 31, i58o/i,and buried October 25 
of the same year. Another Daniel, the fourth son, was baptized 
at Ripple, October 28, 1582; Vincent, the fifth son, was born 
probably in 1585. Katherine, the sixth daughter, was baptized 
at Northbourne, October, 1587, and on November 4, 1605, was 
married to Thomas Milton, gentleman, of London. Margaret, 
the seventh daughter and youngest child, was baptized at North- 
bourne December 7, 1589 and was married September 4, 1610, 
to Thomas Marsh, Esq., of Marton. 

John Gookin bore for his arms: Gules, a chevron ermine 
between three cocks, or. Crest: On a mural crown gules, a 
cock or, crested, barbed, beaked, and membered gules. This 
coat was granted to him in 1609 by Sir William Segar, Garter 
King of Arms. The Records of the College of Arms in Lon- 
don, however, show the chevron or, instead of ermine. In one 
of the books of the college there is a sketch of the coat with 
the tinctures indicated in trick, and accompanying it the fol- 
lowing inscription in English, Latin, and French: 

cote built in 1647 by John Gookin. It bears the date and the initials of John and 
his wife Elizabeth in large characters in raised brickwork on one of the end walls. 




Armorial bearings granted to John Gookin, Esquire, of Ripple Court, in 1609. 



GRANT OF ARMORIAL BEARINGS 13 

COKEINE AlS GoOKEINE 

E. G. a Chevron bet. 3 cocks, O. 

L. In Scuto sanguineo Trabem acuminatim deflexam (quam Chever- 
num vocant) auream inter tres Gallos ejusdem coloris incestum. 

F. De Gucules au Chevron d'Or acompagne de trois Coqs d'Or. 

To John Gookeine, son^ of Arnold Cokeine alias Gookeine of Ickham in 
Kent. 

of ye abovesaid Arms and Crest, viz.: On a Crowne mural! 

a Cock O. crested, barb'd, beaqued and memb. G. 
An° Regni Jac I, VII, An° Dom. 1609. 



It is evident that this was only a project drawn up before 
the grant was engrossed, and that in the grant as issued to 
John Gookin the chevron was ermine. Certain it is that as 
borne by the members of the family in the seventeenth cen- 
tury, it was ermine, not or. It so appears upon the hatchment 
used at the funeral of John's eldest son, Thomas Gookin of 
Ripple Court, who died in January, 1624/52; upon the monu- 
ment in St. Nicholas's Church, Ringwold, Kent, to the mem- 
ory of Jane Edolph, wife of John Gookin's grandson Thomas 
Gookin of Harbledown; and upon the seal used by another 
grandson. Major General Daniel Gookin of Cambridge, Mas- 
sachusetts. Hasted confirms this usage,3as does Gwillim^ who 
says: 

^^ Gules, a chevron ermine, between three Cocks, Or, is 
borne by the name of Gookeyn, and was the coat of John Gokeyn, 
son of Arnold Gokeyn, Anno i6og, attested by John Philpot^ 
Somerset, Herald." 

Although Gwillim must have made the statement about 
John Gookin's parentage from the memorandum preserved 
by the College of Arms, it is significant that he did not accept 
the description of the arms as there recited. Moreover, in 
Stowe MS. 618, "John Philipott's Visitation of Kent, 1619," 

^ An obvious mistake of a kind not unique in the records made by the heralds of 
that period. 

'This hatchment is now in the library of the New England Historic Genealogi- 
cal Society in Boston. 

'Vol. ix, 567. 

* A Display of Heraldry, 6th Ed. 1724, p. 233. 



14 THE GOOKIN ARMS 

the drawing of the Gookin coat shows the chevron ermine and 
the mural crown in the crest, gules, as they appear in Thomas 
Gookin's hatchment. Further confirmation of both of these 
diflrerences from the College of Arms memorandum is afforded 



^» 



Seal of Major General Daniel Gookin from letter to Secretary Thurloe.' 

by Harleian MS. 5507, "Philipots' Visitation of Kent, 1619, 
with additions by Hasted," and Harleian MS. 6138, a copy of 
the 1619 Visitation by Henry Lily. 

iRawl. MSS.jXxxiv, 609. 



1 



I 



TO all Terpms wham thefe may CONCERN, in the Sevtral 

TameStOttdPlamdiimsoftheVNlTED COLONIES,, 
itt 7^ew-Engl4nd, 



IT is hereby declared. That his Highnefs the Lord Prote^ourof 
the Com non wealth of England &c: hath Commiilioned and Im- 
^v&x^'^ Daniel (jooktn dwelling at (^umbndg in the MalFachufets , to 
make agreement with any convenient number of the Engllfh in the Colonies 
of New-England, who fllall defire to remove themfelves or families into 
Jamaica in the Wefi-Indtcs^ now in pofleffion of the State of England ; 
And for their better Inoouragement, His Highoe^i (bearing a fpecial af- 
fedion to the people of New England , and bcii^ very dehrous to hare 
the faid place inhabited by a ftock of fuch as know the LOI\D , and 
walk in his Fear, ) will graunt theTi, Ships for tranfportation j a fafficient 
roportion of Land to them and their heires for ever near (ome good 
arbour in the faid Iflaul ; Protcdion ( by Gods blefling ) from all ene- 
mies j a fhare of all the Horfes, Cattle and other beads, wild and tame upon 
the place freely. Together with other Priviledges and Immunities, the 
particulars wberofmay be known by thole who fhilllee cau(e to addrels 
themfelves to the faid Duniel Cjookm ( or (iich as he fhall deCre to be 
helpfull herein, whole names are underneath exprefsed in writing ) who 
will be ready to m Jce full agreement with them according to his Highnefs 
Inftrudions , aud take their reciprocal! Ingagements and Subfcriptions to 
remove accordingly. Farther it is defired that fuch as incline to the 

Ddjgn aforefaid, do make known the.nfelves without delay , it being his 
Highnefi Pleafurc that the work of Tranfporting fluuld be beguo before 
the end of September next. ■ 

Dated this 25 of ^^anh 1656. 






Jamaica colonization handbill circulated by Daniel Gookin. 





CHAPTER II 

OHN GOOKIN'S younger sons, Daniel and 
Vincent, early left home in search of fortune. 
John, the second son, became a barrister at law 
and had chambers in Lincoln's Inn, though he 
lived during the greater part of his life at Little 
Betteshanger, which his father gave to him when 
he removed to Ripple Court. John was deeply 
attached to his older brother Thomas and they undertook a 
number of business ventures together, which, after the death 
of Thomas in January, 1624/5, resulted in long drawn out liti- 
gation between his widow and his brothers. Thomas was a 
kindly man, dignified in his bearing as became his station in 
life, extremely pious,i and of benevolent disposition. His wife 
Jane — only daughter and heir of Richard Thurston, Esq., of 
Challock, Kent — was of different mold. Forceful and aggres- 
sive, she attempted to saddle upon her brothers-in-law her 
husband's share of obligations for which they were jointly lia- 
ble. This, however, was a losing speculation on her part, for 
she gained nothing by it and succeeded only in alienating all 
the members of her husband's family. 

It was not customary in the sixteenth century for English 
gentlemen to give a liberal education to any of their sons save 
those destined for the learned professions. Vincent Gookin, as 
we know from his own statement, was taught little more than 

^In 1624 he published a volume of verse entitled " Meditations upon the Lord's 
Prayer, the Key of Heavenly and Earthly Paradise." A copy of this book, perhaps 
the only one in existence, is in the library of the British Museum. 

IS 



i6 DR. RICHARD BYRD 

to read and write. His brother Daniel appears to have received 
a better equipment, and there is some reason to think he may 
have been intended for the church. As his career very largely 
determined that of his son, and as the story of his life has 
never been printed, it is here narrated in such detail as may 
be perceived through the veil of the intervening years. 

Of Daniel's early life little is known. He was still at 
Ripple in August, 1601, when, with his brother John, he signed 
a marriage license bond for Thomas Gillowe of Walmer. 
Thereafter he disappears from our view until January 20, 
1608/9, when, by deed indented, his father conveyed to him 
several parcels of land near Ripple. ^ This was in anticipation 
of his marriage, which took place on the thirty-first of the 
same month in Canterbury Cathedral, to Mary Byrd, daugh- 
ter of Rev. Richard Byrd, D.D., one of the Canons of the 
Cathedral. 

Daniel Gookin's father-in-law was a scholar of some repute 
for his learning. He was of the Byrds of Saffron Walden 
in Essex, but which member of that very large family was 
his father has not been ascertained. He was born, it may be 
assumed, in or about the year 1546, for in February, 1564/5, 
he was matriculated at Cambridge as a sizar of Trinity Col- 
lege. Competing successfully for a scholarship on the foun- 
dation, he was sworn in as a Scholar of Trinity on May 18 of 
the same year, and in 1568/9 was graduated with the degree 
of B.A. Shortly afterward he was elected a Fellow of the 
college, and in 1572 commenced studies for the M. A. degree. 
In 1576 he appears to have been serving a cure at or near 
Saffron Walden where a new sect of dissenters calling them- 
selves "pure brethren" had arisen. "A sort of libertines they 
were," says Strype,^ ''that reckoned themselves not bound to 
the observation of the moral law of the ten commandments, 
as being obligatory to such only as were Jews." Byrd wrote 
to Dr. Whitgift soliciting his advice as to how he could best 
answer the questions propounded by these sectaries.' On May 

^ Close Roll, 9 James I, No 30. 

* Annals of the Reformation, II, ii, 64-65. 

'Strype, Life of Whitgift, 151. 



TUTOR TO LORD BURGHLEY'S GRANDSON 17 

2, 1577, letters patent were issued at Westminster granting to 
"Richard Bearde, M.A.," for life, the rectory of the Church 
of All Saints at Northampton, but, as neither the First Fruits 
Composition Books, the Institution Books, nor the Induction 
Books for that parish contain any reference to his having 
taken up the incumbency, it is apparent that he was never 
instituted to the living. In 1578 he published a small volume 
of "Latin Verses on Whitaker's translation of Jewel against 
Harding," 1 and in 1580 he was given the degree of B.D. at 
Cambridge. His relatives at this time were bestirring to get 
him into a comfortable living, and on December i, 1581, 
Queen Elizabeth granted to William Woodhall of Walden 
(son-in-law of Thomas Byrd of Walden and nephew of the 
Puritan Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund Grindall) and 
his brother-in-law Rev. William Wilson, S.T.P., Chancellor 
of St, Paul'Sj^ a patent for the next advowson and presentation 
to the prebends of Canterbury Cathedral on behalf of Richard 
Bird, S. T. P.3 

While waiting for a vacancy to occur Byrd accepted a 
position as tutor to William Cecil,^ eldest son of Sir Thomas 
Cecil, eldest son of Lord Burghley, and in 1583 he was in Paris 
with his charge. Dr. William Parry, a notorious scoundrel 
who traveled abroad as a spy for Queen Elizabeth, in a letter 
written to Lord Burghley in October of that year, reported 
the arrival in Paris of the Queen's Ambassador, Sir Edward 
Stafford, "and in his retinue Mr. Will. Cecil," of whom, says 
Strype,^"he gave a good character knowing how acceptable it 
would be to that lord, his grandfather, viz: 'That his good- 
nature and towardness began to make a very good show 
already. That he [Parry] would do his best to make it appear 
how much he was bound unto his lordship.' And concern- 
ing one Mr. Bird, whom his lordship had appointed to be 

^Hexastichon Latinium in conversionem Juelli contra Hardingum, per Whit- 
akerum. Lond. MDLXXVIII. Cf. Tanner's BibliothecaBritanico-Hibernica. Lond. 
1748, p. 102. 

^Shortly afterward Canon of St. George's, Windsor. 

^ Patent Rolls, 24 Eliz. Pt. 7. 

*At the death of his father in 1622 he succeeded as second Earl of Exeter. He 
died in 1640. 

^Annals III, 1,273. 



i8 BYRD'S LETTER TO BURGHLEY 

his governor and to attend him in his journey, he added 'That 
his lordship, in his opinion, had made a very good choice of 
him, whose government and care of Mr. Cecil could not be 
amended. That he was very well lodged in good air and 
neighborhood. And that Mr. Pallavicini (an eminent Italian 
merchant in London, now there as it seems on some of the 
queen's business) had especial care of him and so had my lord 
ambassador and his lady.' " Unluckily for Richard Byrd, not- 
withstanding this care and his own watchfulness, young Mr. 
Cecil got out of hand and became a convert to the Roman 
Catholic faith. This greatly incensed the English ambassa- 
dor, who blamed the tutor and subjected him to gross indig- 
nities. After his return to England Byrd wrote to Lord 
Burghley complaining of the injustice of the harsh treatment 
he had received.^ 

To the right honorable, my very 

good Lord, the L. Burghley 

L. High Treasurer of England. 

In most humble wise I beseech yo' Hono' to pardon me that thus 
long after my returne out of Fraunce I offer my Ires unto yo' L. before 
I presume to present myselfe. The grief and feare I sustaine by conceipt 
of y"^ L. displeasure growing by unjust relacon of some hath hitherto 
staied me together with the difficulty of my case, a poor man forced to 
contend for my credit against bono' favC and authority. My comfort 
resteth in my truth and innocency (w'' by privilege should be bould) 
and that 1 hoope to answere of my life and demeanor towards M'' W. 
Cecill before yo' Honor, whose wisdome and integrity is known to the 
whole world. What Sir Edw^ard Stafford Her Ma*'*' Ambassador hath 
written unto yo' Hono' in complaint and discredit of me, I know not, 
and therefore cannot p fitly answere the pticulars, but yf otherwise then 
that since my being in Fraunce I have lived a true Christian, a faithfull 
subject to my Princes and most carefull of the charge comitted unto me, 
his L. hath done me wrong. Indeed he hath proceaded against me as 
coulpable of greatest crymes, but \\^^ what honor and justice, the hiest 
Judge best knoweth, and will one daie determine. First by partiall deal- 
inge, by fowle accusacons of intemperance, dronnkenness, whoredome, 
sedicon, treason &:c. Next (notwithstanding my humble submission in 
writinge or my vehement contradicons of his injuste obiections sent unto 
yo' L. and coming myselfe to confirme the same with all duetie) pub- 
licly in presence of manie Gentlemen of o"" nation of both religions, 

*Br. Mus. , Lansdowne MSB., Vol. 46, No. 9. 



HARSH TREATMENT BY STAFFORD 19 

assembled for the same purpose, taken by his porteur, and carried to pryson ; 
againe, convented before them all, reviled by termes of rebel, traitor, 
vilaine, &c., threatened to be whipped naked by his horseboies, made a 
skorne to vyle disposed persons present, and a reproche and bywourde 
to thenemies of my faith and country absent, finally shamefully abused 
by his servannts, namely one Lilly a man commonlie knowen to be of 
most vile disposicon; by him in the French Court, and day of the greatest 
entertainment of my L, of Darby, discredited to honourable Gentlemen 
my friends in myne own hearinge to be a vilaine a knave, &c. After 
in my entrance into the Chamber of Presence, procureth the French Guard 
by his malicious and slanderous speeches violentlie to strike me, and in 
the honorable presence striketh me himselfe. I complained in humble 
manner to his Lordship; I was contempned of him and derided and 
reviled of his man. Verily, my good L. yf I had bene M' W. Cecills 
spaniel, I ought not thus to have ben used. Yf I can be convinced of 
these crimes, convicted or touched justlie with so much as suspicon of 
anie of them I crave thextremest punishment without anie favour. Erred 
I have I confesse in some intemperate speeches, more like a naturall man 
then a mortified Divine, being first most intemperately used, when, yf I 
had had the mild spirit of Moises I should not have conteined. 

To M' W Cecill, my good Lord, I have done my dutie faithfully, as 
in the sight of God and as I desire mercie at his hands. In grief of hart 
I complain unto yo"' Hono"^ as once S* Ambrose in case not unlike, that 
I have been robbed of the sowle of that young gentleman by wicked and 
trecherous men in care and poursuit of whose safety I am fallen into these 
troubles. In theducacon and government of one of his qualitie I confesse 
myselfe to have proceaded indiscretly. If to direct him in the true fear 
of God by example, by precept, by privat caution and loving admonicon, 
and to instruct him in all honorable and honest qualities be points of 
indiscrecon. Otherwise my lord, I think I have not greatlie erred. But 
now are the times and manners of men, wherein Christian and vertuous 
educacon is thought to base for nobilitie, and diagoras doctrine of Athe- 
isme and sensuall libertie taken of some to be the sounder divinitie, 
thiniquitie of w"^ judgment the Lord of Justice, I doubt not will short- 
lie confound. 

Touching one Pomere. It may please yo"' hono"" I hired thould man 
for o' instrucon in the french tonge and gave him his honest reward; his 
books w"** I borrowed I trulie restored except one pamphlet written of 
pilgrims not borrowed by me, but brought me by him, as poets and 
painters covet to have their creatures read and seen, w'^'' being long by 
me, as some such toies of like substance and content, was at length lost 
either by some negligence in removing from one lodging to another, or as 
I rather think, by M'' Cecill otherwise bestowed. Soe my good Lord 
the cause of this ould man (who would not be satisfied with any intreatie 
or offer of recompence) his triple complaint. 



20 CANON OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL 

Thus my honorable good lord I have brieflie shewed you thunhappie 
successe of my travaile and so humblie submit myself unto your equitie 
for regard of my desert; Howsover it shall please yo' HonoMo deter- 
mine of me, yet will I remaine not an enimy to yo"^ house as some hardlie 
say but a most faithfull and truly affectioned servant and yo' Hon" dur- 
inge my life most humble and bounden. 




Endorsed: June, 1585. M'Bird to my L. 
The cruel and unjust dealing of Sir Edw: 
Stafford towards him. His true love & 
service to M' W- Cecill. M' W- Cecill 
turned Papist in France. Bird his Tutor. 

In what temper Lord Burghley took this appeal there is 
nothing to show. Apparently, however, he did not oppose the 
preferments that came to the unfortunate tutor only a few 
years later. On March 21, 1588/9, Mr. Byrd was collated to 
the archdeaconry of Cleveland, and in September, 1590, he was 
installed as a canon of Canterbury Cathedral. In 1595 he 
published "A Communication Dialogue wise to be learned of 
the ignorant," which seems to have been commonly known 
as Bird's Catechism.^ He resigned his archdeaconry before 
1601, and in 1608 he was given the degree of D.D. His death 
occurred in June, 1609, less than five months after his daugh- 
ter Mary was married to Daniel Gookin, and on the nine- 
teenth of the month he was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. 
Besides Mary, he had two daughters who died in infancy and a 
daughter "Cysly," buried at Canterbury October 22, 1608. 
He also had a son Peter, born in Canterbury in 1603 ; and it 
is probable that he was the father of "Elizabeth Birrde," 
who was married in the Cathedral on July 4, 1609, to Richard 
Martin. The date of this marriage, following so soon after Dr. 
Byrd's death, is perhaps explained by the fact that the wor- 

Cooper's Athenae Cantabridgiensis, ii, 521. 



DR. JOHN MEYE 21 

shipful prebendary left his family in straightened circum- 
stances. His widow renounced administration of the estate 
and letters were taken out by a creditor. 

Dr. Byrd's wife, whom it is probable that he married after 
his return from France, was Elizabeth, daughter of John 
Meye, or May, Bishop of Carlisle, by his wife Amy, daughter 
of William Vowell of Creake Abbey in Norfolk, and widow of 
John Cowell of Lancashire. Bishop Meye was born about 
1526 in the county of Suffolk. His parentage has not been 
ascertained, though he was an armiger and bore for his arms: 
Sable, a chevron or, between three cross-crosslets fitchee, 
argent; on a chief of the second, three roses. The charge in 
chief was probably an addition granted to the bishop, for his 
brother William Meye, Dean of St. Paul's and at the time of 
his death Archbishop-elect of York, bore the arms plain. 

John Meye was matriculated on May 2, 1544, as a sizar 
of Queen's College, Cambridge. He was appointed bible- 
clerk of his college, and, in 1549/50, proceeded B.A. He was 
elected Fellow of Queen's in 1550, commenced M.A. in 1553, 
acted as Bursar of the college during 1553, 1554, and 1555, and 
at midsummer, 1557, he was ordained Priest. On Novem- 
ber 16, 1557, he was instituted to the rectory of Aston Sand- 
ford, Buckinghamshire, on the presentation of Anne, Countess 
of Oxford, but resigned that benefice the following year.* In 
1559 he was elected Master of St. Catherine's Hall in Cam- 
bridge. This post he held for about eighteen years. He 
commenced B.D. in 1560, and the same year was collated to 
the rectory of Long Stanton, St. Michael, Cambridgeshire. In 
1562 Archbishop Parker collated him by lapse to the rectory 
of North Creake, Norfolk. In 1564 he was created D.D., and 
about the same time he obtained a canonry of Ely, which he 
held until May, 1582.2 In 1565 he was nominated one of the 
Lent preachers at court, and on September 26 he was collated 
by Archbishop Parker to the rectory of St. Dunstan-in-the- 
East, London, which he vacated in January, 1573/4. He was 
admitted to the archdeaconry of the East Riding of York- 

^ Lipscomb's Buckinghamshire, i, 47. 
* Le Neve, Fasti, ed. Hardy, i, 361. 



22 BISHOP OF CARLISLE 

shire, by proxy, on August 3, 1569, and in person on October 
8, 1571, and retained it until the end of 1588. He held also 
the moiety of the rectory of Darfield, Yorkshire. During the 
year beginning in November, 1569, he served as Vice-Chan- 
cellor of Cambridge University, and, while holding this office, 
was one of a committee appointed to visit King's College, 
which had been thrown into a state of confusion by the con- 
duct of Dr. Philip Baker, the Provost. 

In 1576 the see of Durham became vacant by the death of 
Bishop Pilkington, and George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrews- 
bury, wrote the Earl of Leicester at court, enclosing a letter to 
Queen Elizabeth, and bespeaking that powerful lord's influ- 
ence with the queen to have his friend, Dr. Meye, appointed 
as Dr. Pilkington's successor, or else, if Dr. Barnes, the Bishop 
of Carlisle, should be translated to Durham, that Meye should 
obtain the bishopric of Carlisle. To this says Strype:^ 

"The Earl of Leicester answered that her majesty had received the 
letter, and took his suit in good part, and added, that he knew the said 
May was like to have good speed for one of those bishoprics. That he 
had some back-friends, but that he was then past the worst; and was 
much bound to his lordship. Adding, that he thought the bishop would 
be appointed shortly." 

Through the intervention of Lord Burghley Dr. Barnes 
was given the Durham bishopric, whereupon, in May, 1577, 
Dr. Meye was appointed Bishop of Carlisle. He was conse- 
crated on September 29. On June i, 1577, he wrote Shrews- 
bury a letter expressing gratitude for his friend's good offices 
in securing the appointment, and requesting the earl to obtain 
for him the queen's license to hold his other preferments in 
commendam, that among other things he might still enjoy the 
benefice of Darfield, which was the only place he then had to 
stay in, as Rose Castle, the episcopal seat, was in the posses- 
sion of the temporal lord, the Lord Scroop, until Michael- 
mas, and he had lately parted with his Mastership of St. 
Catherine's Hall to one of the Earl of Leicester's chaplains, at 
that lord's request. Apparently the commendam was obtained 

'Annals, II, ii, 52. 



CRITICISED BY THE PURITANS 23 

without difficulty, but it seems to have subjected the bishop to 
censure, Strype tell us:^ 

"This Darfield was a rectory in Yorkshire, containing no less than 
two thousand souls, young and old; but not coming all to one church, 
there being two chapels annexed ; the one at Wombe, the other at Worse- 
borough, which town might consist of six hundred souls more. To 
which parish belonged a parson (who was the bishop) and a vicar, whose 
living consisted of a pension of twenty-two marks; the parson's of six or 
seven score pounds by the year. He allowed to the curates of the two 
chapels (whereof the vicar was one) five pounds yearly. And the bishop 
procured quarterly sermons for his head church. But for this, the bishop 
was unworthily slandered and clamoured at by the puritan faction after 
this manner: If one asked, why these stipendiaries took so little of the 
parson, and he received so much, answer was made, that if they refused, 
the bishop would take one or other that came next to hand, and create 
him a shepherd in one day, that would be content to serve him for less. 
Such slanders were easily raised, and then studiously blown about among 
the common people." 

This was not the first occasion when Dr. Meye had been 
criticised by the Puritans. As Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge 
he was concerned with Dr. Whitgift and others in the com- 
pilation of the statutes given to the university by Queen Eliza- 
beth in 1570.2 Mr. Dering, chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk 
and one of the leading Puritans of his day, in a letter to the 
chancellor of the university, dated November 18, 1570, pro- 
nounced these statutes "unrighteous," and added, "D. May 
and D. Chaderton, two other of the Heades, ther is small 
constancie ether in ther life or in ther religion." It should 
be noted, however, that all the heads of the university who 
were not Puritans were condemned in similar terms. 

Bishop Meye's name occurs in a commission issued on 
May 14, 1578, for a visitation of the Church of Durham. ^ 
He entered upon his episcopal duties at a trying time, as 
appears from a letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury dated at 
Rose Castle, December 3, 1578, requesting him to write to 
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, to back his suit to the 

^Annals, II, ii, 55. 
2 Strype. Life of Parker, ii, 37. 

'John May. Article in Diet. Nat. Biog. by Gordon Goodwin. This has been 
freely drawn upon in the preparation of this sketch of Bishop May's life. 



24 IMPOVERISHED BY BENEFACTIONS 

Queen for the remission of his first-fruits, as he had been put 
to excessive charges during the last year by hospitality and 
relieving of the poor in a time of great dearth in the coun- 
try. He protested that when his year's account was made at 
Michaelmas preceding, his expenses surmounted the year's 
revenues of his bishopric by 600/., and he concluded by beg- 
ging to be excused from attending parliament on account of 
his poverty. Again on July 22, 1587, Meye wrote Shrews- 
bury that he was in debt and danger by reason of the intoler- 
able dearth of corn in his country, and on account of process 
against him out of the exchequer for non-payment of 146/. 
due to the Queen for subsidy. On February 15, 1592/3, the 
Queen presented William Holland to the rectory of North 
Creake, which Meye still held. Thence arose a suit in the 
Queen's Bench, wherein it was held that the rectory might 
be treated as void by reason of Meye being subsequently 
inducted to Darfield. 

John Meye was the author of some plays, now lost, which 
were acted by the members of Queen's College in 1551 and 
1553. The only writings by him that are known to have 
survived are the letters to Lord Shrewsbury, and, among the 
Tanner MSS. in the Bodleian Library, some notes of a ser- 
mon he preached at Paul's Cross the Sunday after St. Bar- 
tholomew's Day, 1565.^ He died at Rose Castle on February 
15, 1597/8, and was buried at Carlisle a few hours after his 
death, which was probably caused by the plague. The regis- 
ter of the parish of Dalston, in Cumberland, contains this 
record of his decease and place of interment: 

Feb. 15, 1597. Reverendus in Christo pater, Johannes Mey, divina 
providentia episcopus Carliolensis, hora octava matutina decimi quinti diei 
Februarii, mortem oppetiit, et hora octava vespertina ejusdem diei, Car- 
liolensi in ecclesia sepultus fuit. Cujus justa celebrabantur die sequenti 
Dalstonii. 

Bishop Meye was the father of John Meye of Shouldham 
Abbey, Norfolk, who married Cordelia, daughter of Mar- 
tin Bowes, Esq., of London; Elizabeth, wife of Dr. Richard 

' Hackman, Cat. of Tanner MSS., p. 1022. 



LADY MEYE'S ANCESTRY 



^5 



Byrd; Alice, wife of Rev. Richard Burton of Burton, York- 
shire; and Anne, wife of Rev. Richard Pilkington, D.D., 
rector of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire. 

Amy (Vowell) Meye, the bishop's lady, survived him 
nearly twenty-three years. After his death she appears to 
have Hved with her daughter Anne Pilkington in the little 
Thames-side village of Hambleden, near Henley. She was 
buried there December 5, 1620. Her line of descent from 
several ancient families is shown in the following pedigree, 
which has been compiled, without other verification, from the 
Visitations of the counties of Norfolk, Somerset, Dorset, and 
Devon, Hutchins' History of Dorset, and Harl. MS. 4756. 



William Vowell = 
of Wells in 
Somerset, Gent. 
Arms: Gules, 
three escutcheons 
argent, each 
charged with a 
cinquefoil, azure. 



I 

Richard Vowell 
of Wells in Somer- 
set, Gent. 

Arms: Vowell as 
before, impaling 
Fauntleroy, as 
before. 



John Fauntleroy. = 
Probably of the 
Dorset family seated 
at the manor of 
Fauntleroy's Marsh. 
Arms : (?) Three 
infants' heads couped 
at the shoulders, 
proper, crined or. 



= Margaret Fauntleroy. 



Adam de Copleston 
of Copleston in 
Devon. 

Arms : Argent, a 
chevron engrailed 
gules, between 3 
leopards' faces, 
azure. 



Thomas Copleston 
of Luckcombe in 
Somerset. 



William 
Vowell of 
Wells in Som- 
erset, Gent. 
Arms: Vowell 
as before, 
impaling Dry- 
land, (?) Gules, 
guttee d'eau, a 
fess, wavy, or. 



Elizabeth 
Dryland, dau. 

of 

Dryland of co. 
Kent. 



William Hymer- = Margaret 



ford or Hemer- 
ford.of EastCoker 
(or Estocke), 
CO. Somerset. 
Arms: Argent, a 
chevron between 
three drakes, 
sable; on an 
escutcheon of 
pretense. Copies- 
ton as before. 



Copleston 
fifth daughter 
and co-heir. 



26 



LADY MEYE'S ANCESTRY 



William Vowell 
of Creake Abbey, co. 
Norfolk, Gent. 
Arms: Vowell as 
before; on an escut- 
cheon of pretense, 
quarterly, 1st and 4th 
Hymerford, 2nd and 
3d Copleston, as 
before. 



Margaret Hymerford 
daughter and heir. 



1st John Cowell = Amy Vowell = 2nd John Meye, Bishop of 
of Lancashire. I Carlisle. 



Elizabeth Meye= Richard Byrd, D.D., 
Canon of Canterbury 
Cathedral. 



r 

Mary Byrd = Daniel Gookin 
of Carrigaline. 



PART II 
DANIEL GOOKIN OF CARRIGALINE 





CHAPTER III 

HERE Daniel Gookin lived at the time of his 
marriage to Mary Byrd has not been ascertained. 
On October 24, 1610, he sold to his brother 
Thomas the lands given him by his father, and 
about two months later, that is on January 2, 
1610/1, he bought back from Thomas a parcel 
containing twenty-two acres of fresh marsh. ^ 
No record of the birth or baptism of his eldest son Richard 
has yet come to light, but his second son Edward was baptized 
at Ripple, June 23, 161 1. Whether this points to residence 
somewhere in Kent or near there, or indicates that in the sum- 
mer of 161 1 Daniel brought his family from a distance for a 
visit to his father and mother at Ripple Court can only be 
conjectured. His brother Vincent, who had spent some years 
on the continent before reaching his majority, engaged, it is 
probable, in the pilchard industry, made his way to Ireland, 
in or about the year 1606, and settled at Courtmacsherry, in 
the county of Cork. Except that he was ever scrupulously 
upright in all his dealings with his fellow-men, Vincent Gookin 
was a typical adventurer of the age of adventure in which he 
lived. Eager, forceful, clear-sighted, and self-reliant, he quickly 
laid the foundation of what grew, before he reached middle 
life, to be a large fortune. Munster, which had been almost 
depopulated after Desmond's rebellion, and again devastated 
during the strife that followed the revolt of "red Hugh 



^Close Roll, 9 James I, Pt. 3, No. 30. 



29 



30 REMOVAL TO IRELAND 

O'Neill," Earl of Tyrone, in 1598, was, in the early years of 
the seventeenth century, outside of a few walled towns, a wild 
and inhospitable country. It offered, however, unusual oppor- 
tunities to the English gentlemen of hardy mould and deter- 
mined spirit, mostly younger sons of good family, who soon 
flocked thither in considerable numbers. Without doubt it 
was the representations as to these opportunities made by Vin- 
cent Gookin that led Daniel to follow his brother to the new 
place of abode. How early the migration took place is not 
known, save that it was prior to June, 1616, for at that date 
Daniel was liv^ing in Coolmain, parish of Ringrose, county 
Cork, on the opposite side of the bay from Vincent's resi- 
dence at Courtmacsherry.^ 

In October, 161 2, Catherine (Denne) Gookin, the mother 
of Daniel and Vincent, died and was buried in the city of 
Canterbury. 2 About this time John Gookin turned over the 
manor of Ripple Court to his eldest son Thomas, upon whom 
the reversion in tail had been settled at the time of its purchase. 
Not wishing, however, to part with, the title during his lifetime, 
John put his son in possession under a twenty years' lease. 
For awhile thereafter it is presumable that he remained in Rip- 
ple as a member of his son's household. The militant temper 
of Jane Gookin, the new mistress of Ripple Court, made the 
family seat no longer an agreeable place for her father-in-law 
to live in, and so, at the age of about seventy, he undertook the 
journey — in that day a long and somewhat arduous one — to 
the south of Ireland, to make his home during his remaining 
years with his beloved son Daniel. 

In 1619, on the 19th of June, Daniel Gookin sold to a 
Kentish man named Thomas Petley, for the sum of ^^430, the 
twenty-two acres of fresh marsh in the parishes of Hope All 
Saints and St. Mary's in Romney Marsh, Kent, not, however, 
conveying the dower of his wife Mary, which was expressly 
excepted.^ This was a part of a transaction by which Daniel 

* Close Roll, 14 James I, Pt. 10, No. 21. 

* Register Book of the Parish of St. George the Martyr, p. 136. The burial is 
recorded on October 28 and again on the 29th, and Catherine is described as "M'ris 
Gookine of the p'ishe of St. Paule." 

'Close Roll, 14 James 1, Pt. 10, No. 21. 




Hatchment used at the funeral of Thomas Gookin, Esquire, 
of Ripple Court, Kent, in January, 1625. 



PURCHASE OF CARRIGALINE 31 

purchased from Petley for sixteen hundred pounds sterling,^ 
then a very considerable sum, the castle and lands of Carriga- 
line, situated about seven miles southeast of the city of Cork, 
down the harbor, at the head of an arm of the sea called the 
Oonbuoy River. 

Carrigaline was in early times called Beauver, Beaver, or 
Belvoir, from the huge limestone rock which rises abruptly 
from the river and slopes gradually toward the land. Crown- 
ing the summit are the ruins of an ancient castle, said to have 
been built by Milo de Cogan in the reign of King John. 
Being deemed impregnable it was long the boast of its own- 
ers; but in 1568 it was captured by the Lord Deputy Sidney 
from James Fitzmaurice, after an obstinate resistance. Popu- 
lar tradition ascribes its demolition a few years later to the 
rage of one of the MacDonalds, who, hearing that his daugh- 
ter was ill-treated by her husband, the lord of the castle, 
beleagured the place at the head of his vassals, and, having 
captured it, reduced it to a ruin. 

When the territory of the Desmonds was divided, Carriga- 
line fell to the share of Sir Warham St. Leger, who, on June 
17, 1595, had a grant of it, together with other adjacent lands 
and the fishing privileges at Croshaven and Awneldie. On 
March 31, 161 3, St. Leger sold the castle and manor of Carri- 
galine, with most of the lands and the fishing at Croshaven, 
to Thomas Petley, who, three years later, conveyed them to 
Daniel Gookin. Daniel thus became the holder immediately 
under the chief lord of the fee, the crown. He also acquired 
the lease held by Thomas Petley's brother John, as is shown 
by the Crown Receipt Book for 1622:2 

13 Nov. 1622. 

Recept. de Danielo Gookin, gener', assign' Johannis Petley, tenent* 
Casteir et terr' de Carrigleyne alias Bever, iacen' in Com' Corck ad ;^io. 
13^ 4^^ per ann' ex s' parcell' Signior' de Carrigleyne pro redd' inde pro 
uno anno finit' ut Supra ;^I0. 13. 4. 

Recept. De eod. tenem' un' mercat' et un' fer' apud Carrigeline 
iacen' in Comit' Corcke ad xiii^ iv*^ per ann. tenen' piscacon' de Cros- 

^ Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 302. 

^ Irish Record Office, I E 4, xxxviii, 96. 



32 CLASH WITH LORD CORK 

haven parcell' terr' dui Reg' spectan' in iure Corona Sue, iacen' in Comit 
predict' ad xiii' 4*^ per Ann, pro Uno Anno finit' ut supra.^ Xxvi» 8*^. 

Shortly after he made this purchase Daniel removed to the 
manor house at Carrigaline with his family. He was not long 
permitted to remain in undisputed possession. Under date of 
September 19, 1617, the following entry appears in the diary 
of Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork: 2 

M' Danyell gookin, John his man, W" M^Danyell, W" Ayres and 
M' Anthony Sowthall entered on my glebeland of Carrickeleyn with force 
and armes, and took violently away the 4th sheaf of that parcell of glebe- 
land rent 6 acres, which land my tennant M"^ Petley did let unto Donnogh 
o fflyn, who plowed & sewed the land: M' Berk and M' brickhed wit- 
nesses thereof. 

Ciiij Xvj sheafs of Barly for the 4th sheaf 19th of September, 1617, 

This seizure by Daniel was the assertion of superior title 
to the lands as against the claim of ownership made by Boyle, 
no doubt in consequence of a transaction recorded by him two 
months earlier when, on July 19, 1617, he wrote in his diary: 

I dealt with Sir Warham St. Leger, for his whole state of his grand- 
father's seignory of Carrickeleyne, for which I gave him 20 beeves to 
revictuall his ship, uppon sealing of my conveighance, and I am bownd to 
give him thordre of twoe bonds for any such Lands as I shall receav in 
his right, by virtue of the deeds he now made me. 

Boyle, who had been created Baron Youghal in September 
of the preceding year, was then easily the most powerful man in 
Munster. Whatever Daniel Gookin may have thought about 
the younger St. Leger's good faith, or of his right to make the 
conveyance, it was evident that Boyle had set his heart upon 
possessing Carrigaline, so Daniel decided that it was wiser to 
enter into an accommodation with him than to oppose him. 

' 13 Nov. 1622. 

Received from Daniel Gookin, gentleman, assignee of John Petley, tenant of 
the Castle and lands of Carrigleyne, alias Bever, lying in the County of Cork, at 
;^io. 13. 4 per annum, from several parcels of the seignory of Carrigleyne, for the 
rent thereof for one year ended as above. .^10. 13. 4. 

Received from the same tenant of a Market and a Fair at Carrigleyne, lying in 
the County of Cork, at 13s. 4d. per annum ; tenant of the Fishery at Croshaven, part 
of the lands of our Lord the King in right of his crown, lying in the County of 
Cork aforesaid, at 13s. 4d. for one year ended as above. Xxvi5. 8d. 

'Lismore Papers, Ser. 1, 1, 166. 



SALE OF CARRIGALINE 33 

This was effected at Dublin, in February or March, 1618. 
Daniel agreed to sell the manor to Boyle for ^1250 sterling 
and a lease of the premises for twenty-two years at the favor- 
able rental of ^^loo per annum. Boyle relates in his diary:^ 

2 April, 1 61 8. 

I Paid M' Gookyn Vj^' to make up the 44" I paid him in gold at 
Dublin 50'', being in part payment of the 1250^' ster: I am to paie him 
at Mydsomer next of the purchaze of Carrickelyne. 

22 May, 1618. 

I paid M' Gookin one other C" ster: which makes me 150" of the 
125O" I am to paie for carryckeleyn. 

24 June 1618. 

1 paid M'' gookin twelv hundreth and ffyftie pounds of ster: for the 
purchaze of carrickeleyn, whereof all in reddy money except fowr skoar 
three pounds X^ which M' Cleyton had of myne in keeping, which by 
my letter I appointed him to pay M"" gookin to make up his 1250^' ster; 
which he receaved.^ 

2 July 1618. 

I rodd to carrickeleyne, where owld M"^ John gookin sealed & per- 
fected (as his son daniell, upon my payment to him of 1250" ster: had 
formerly don) my deed of bargayn and sale of the Mannor of Carrick- 
eleyn, and a bond of 2500" ster: for performance of covenants, and this 
daie Ja: daunt of Tracton as their Attorney delivired me seizen & also 
full and peaceable possession of the same. 

Boyle was keenly alive to the importance of a perfect title. 
Continuing the foregoing entry he added: 

This daie M' David Terry litz Edmond of Corck, gent, perfected his 
deed to me at Carrickeleyn, thereby conveighing and releasing to me all his 
estate & demaund in the mannor of Bever alias carrickeleyn, and the Rent 
he pretended out of the Same. 

This shows that, notwithstanding the St, Leger grant, Boyle 
thought it prudent to get rid of the claim of the former Irish 
proprietor. On July 13, 1618, he recorded: 

I signed and perfected M'' gookins his lease of carrickelyne. 

It may well be that one of the reasons that impelled Daniel 
to sell the Carrigaline estate was his desire to free his capital 
for the transatlantic ventures upon which he shortly afterward 

* Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 182. 
*Ibid. 194. 



34 DETAILS FROM CORK'S DIARY 

embarked and through which he became distinguished in the 
annals of early American colonization. The same spirit of 
enterprise that took him to Ireland, as an adventurer of land, 
led him to become a shareholder in the Virginia Company, and 
in most, if not all of the colonial undertakings of Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges. Possibly it was business of that nature that 
called him to England in the summer of 1618. He was back 
in Ireland by November, for on the 7th of that month Lord 
Cork wrote in his diary: 

I promised to allow M' Danyell gookin his Michas rent of 50" star, 
due for carrickelyne in lieu of 50" he lent my lo. Barry^ in England.^ 

Again on December 18, 1618, Lord Cork records: 

Paid M' dannell gookin 40^' that my mother borrowed of him which 
my mother^ is to repay me; which she did.* 

On March 15, 1618/9, Daniel, "having money by him," as 
he expressed it in a later reference to the transaction, lent 
sixty pounds to Jordon Condon of Shannagarry, county Cork, 
and took from him, his father Richard Condon, and David 
Power of Shannagarry, a bond conditioned for the delivery of 
ninety fat cows in October following. 

Whether the conveyance to Lord Cork in July, 1618, was 
defective, or whether a fine could not then be acknowledged, 
does not appear, but on March 26, 1619, Cork made the fol- 
lowing entry in his diary: 

M' Daniell gookin of Carrickeleyn and Mary his wife before my lo: 
Sarsfeyld acknowledged a ffyne to me of Carrickeleyn, and theruppon I 
made him a new lease thereof for 21 yeares delivered.^ 

On April 24, 1619, "Daniel Gookin, gent.," was appointed 
a member of a commission to examine into the alleged mis- 
demeanors of one Edmond Hunt, the King's Customer for 

'David Viscount Butevant, then Lord Cork's ward; later by marriage with Boyle's 
eldest daughter, the Lady Alice, he became his son-in-law. 

''Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 204. 

*His mother-in-law, Lady Alice Fenton, wife of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Knt, 
principal Secretary of State and Privy Counsellor in Ireland. 

^Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 206. 

' Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 213. Still later, April 23, 1620, Cork wrote, " I sent 
my Cozen Lawrence parsons ... to sue out my ffyne of Carrickelyne from Mr. 
Petley & M' gookin. Ibid., 247, 



THE LONGFORD PLANTATION 35 

the port and harbor of Cork, who was charged with having 
"committed divers abuses . . . against his Majesty and griev- 
ous exactions against his subjects. "^ This, so far as is known, 
was Daniel's only public employment. The next entry relat- 
ing to him in Lord Cork's diary is dated October 24, 1619: 

I lent my mother 40" ster : which she delivered to M"" gookin in loan, 
and she is to give M' Lawrence parsons order to repaie me this 40'' next 
tearm out of her Michas Rents.^ 

Condon had not repaid his loan, nor delivered the ninety 
fat cows, and Daniel's supply of ready money had given out. 
More than twelve years elapsed before he succeeded in recov- 
ering from Condon's bondsmen, and then in part only, for 
among his effects inventoried after his decease was a bond of 
William Power of Shannagarry for forty pounds, accounted 
worthless. 

About the time the forty pounds were borrowed from 
Lady Fenton, Daniel Gookin took part in the plantation of the 
county of Longford, which was begun in 1617.^ This planta- 
tion was in pursuance of the king's policy of "reducing Ire- 
land into order and subjection." The methods pursued were 
high-handed in the extreme. The ancient proprietorship of 
Irish lands by English lords and gentlemen who were driven 
out of the country by the Irish during the Barons' wars and 
the long struggle between the rival houses of York and Lan- 
caster, was made a pretext for a commission of inquiry into the 
title which the crown might assert, with the result that a gen- 
eral title was found for the king. It was given out that His 
Majesty had only in mind the security and general good of 
the kingdom, to further which it was important that the Irish 
should be "reduced" from their "lazy, vagabond, and barba- 
rous way of living" and be effectually restrained "from prey- 
ing on other men's properties." But, as Carte observes, "the 
instructions he gave and the regulations he prescribed were 
not in all cases so exactl t observed as they ought." In Long- 
ford particularly, thougL the king had intended that no man 

'Cal. S. p. Ireland, 1615-1625,111,289. 
^Lismore Papers, Ser. I, i, 233. 
* Carte's Life of Ormond, i, 23. 



36 GRIEF OF THE IRISH PROPRIETORS 

should be divested of his possessions without being given an 
equivalent, the Irish proprietors were ruthlessly stripped of 
them, scarce a third part of their former holdings, either in 
acreage or quality of soil, being allotted them. The grief of 
these unfortunates over the loss of their ancestral estates is 
graphically set forth in a petition addressed "To the Right 
Hon'''^ the Commiss" authorized by His Ma*'« to hear the 
Grievances of Ireland," in which it is stated: 

It fell out so that divers of the poor Natives or former freeholders of 
that County after the loss of all their possessions or inheritances there, 
Some runn madd and others died instantly for very grief; as one James 
McWilliam O'Ferrall of Cuilleagh, and others whose names for brevitie 
I leave out who in their death-bedds were in such a taking that by earnest 
persuasions Caused some of their family and friends to bring them out of 
their bedds to have abroad the last sight of the hills and fields they lost in 
the said Plantation, every one of them dying instantly after.^ 

To Daniel Gookin's credit be it said that he had no per- 
sonal part in despoiling the Irish proprietors. Though it was 
one of the conditions upon which the large grants of land in 
Ireland were made to English gentlemen, by Queen Elizabeth 
and King James I, that the grantees should bring over natives 
of England to inhabit, in 1620 only one planter was resident 
on the Longford lands. Daniel Gookin never settled there, 
but on the contrary sold his grant immediately and took out 
his patent afterward to complete his legal title to the purchaser. 
In a survey of Longford by the commissioners of the crown, 
dated April 5, 1620, it is recited: 

In the County of Longford there are 33 undertakers to whom His 
Majesty hath assigned several proportions of Land, the state of which 
Plantation followeth, . . . 4th, Daniel Gookin 500 A. This is sold to 
Mr. Edgeworth who hath besides a Proportion of 300 A as an undertaker; 
and could not buy this without special License which he hath obtained 
under great seal.^ 

The grant to Daniel Gookin was dated June 10, i62i,and 
is recorded in the Patent Rolls of Chancery for 19 James i.^ 

' Harris MSS., Royal Dublin Soc, ii, 68. 
■ Harris MSS. 

^ The text of the grant is: "Grant to Daniel Gookin in the C° of Longford. 
The lands of Coolermerigan 26 acres; Killenawse and Garrynegree 48 acres; Ros- 



SALE TO EDGE WORTH 37 

Daniel's deed to Edgeworth, which is recorded on the same 
roll, was dated July 16, i62i,and recited that "having obtained 
the King's license to alienate" the lands, he did so "in consid- 
eration of the sum of ;^350." Some interest attaches to this 
transaction from the fact that Francis Edgeworth, the purcha- 
ser, was the ancestor of Rev. Lovel Edgeworth, father of Maria 
Edgeworth the novelist, and that the tract of land is now the 
site of Edgeworthstown. 

semyne, LisdufFe and Garriduff 78 acres pasture and 29 acres bog and wood; Lisse- 
magunen 96 acres; Lissard and Carribolum loi acres; Shiroeand Kilderin 61 acres; 
Bragwie 90 acres pasture and 40 acres bog and wood, adjacent to the lands of Lisma- 
gunen, in the territory of Ely O'Carroll : rent for 500 acres pasture ;i^6-5-o English 
currency, and for 69 acres of bog and wood, 2/. lOj. 2d., To hold in free and common 
soccage, subject to the conditions of the Plantations of Longford; Viz. 

To allow of wood for building of houses on the premises and sand and slates 
during the period of three years from date of the grant : — 

To cause his several tenants in feefarm or for term of life or lives or years in fee 
tail to build in town-redes (and not dispersedly) for defence, — and to exact a fine of 
;^5-0-0 per ann. for every house built apart. 

To sew or plant one Acre with hemp for every 500 acres in his possess" under 
pain of 20s. for every year's neglect. 

To be personally resident for the greater part of every year upon the premises 
unless licensed to absent himself by the Lord Deputy, — and in that case to leave a 
sufficient Agent. 

Lastly, — to render yearly to the Lord Deputy the prime bird out of every eyrey 
of Great Hawks that shall build in his woods." 

Another grant covering identically the same lands, though with slight differences 
in spelling, was recorded on July 15 of the same year. 





CHAPTER IV 

N the year 1620 Daniel Gookin projected an 
enterprise that was destined to have far-reach- 
ing influence upon the history of his descend- 
ants, — that of transporting cattle to the colony 
of Virginia, and of founding a plantation in that 
distant land. The records of the Virginia Com- 
pany contain the following entry, under date of 
November 13, 1620. 

Wheras vppon a former treatie ' had w"" m' Wood in the behalfe of 
M' Gookin for transportacon of Cattle outt of Ireland into Virginia an 
offer was made vnto him after the rate of x" : a Cowe vppon certificate of 
their saf?e landinge, Provided they were fayr and lardge Cattle and of our 
English breed. The said m' Wood hath now returned his fynall aunswere 
that hee cannott entertaine the bargaine under xij" the Cowe without 
exceedinge great losse. 

The answer was not, however, quite final, as appears from 
the minutes of the Quarter Court, held two days later. 

Thomas Wood beinge now willinge (though hee conceived itt a hard 
bargaine) to accept of the offer of the former Courte, w"*" was that for everie 
Cowe of our English breed transported by him or his Agents safe and 
sound to Virginia hee should be paide Eleuen pounde and for every Shee 
Goate three pounds tenn shillings, vppon certificate att his returne from 
the Gouernor there; Hee moved therfore now that hee might have some 
assurance vnder the Companies Seale for the payment of the said Monny 
whervppo the Courte ordered that accordinge to his request hee should 
have his securitie confirmed vnder the Seale of the Company for w"*" they 
gave order to m' Deputy to see itt done. 

*The minutes of the meetings contain no record of this earlier negotiation. 

38 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH VIRGINIA COMPANY 39 

The company at this period was making a strong effort to 
secure colonists, and in April of the following year Daniel 
Gookin's friend, Captain William Newce of Bandon, who had 
achieved some success in settling Englishmen in Munster, hav- 
ing built up a suburb of Bandon, known as Newce's Town, 
came forward with an offer "to transport at his own costs and 
charges 1000 persons into Virginia betwixt this and midsomer 
1625: to be there planted and imployed vpon aperticular Plan- 
tacon." This offer was received with enthusiasm ; the company 
readily granted him his request for a patent "as ample as any 
other, w**" all manner of priuilidges, saving the Tytle of Gen- 
erall, w^ they could not graunt him," and constituted him Mar- 
shall of the colony, though there was "no present necessity or 
vse of such an officer in Virginia"; and the king conferred 
upon him the order of knighthood. 

Stirred by these proceedings Daniel Gookin addressed a 
letter to the Deputy, John Ferrar. At an Extraordinary Court, 
held July 2, 1621: 

M"" Deputy signified of a letter hee had receaved from rtT^ Gookin of 
Ireland who desyred y* a Clause in the Contract between him and the 
Company touchinge Cattle w'''' hee had vndertaken to transport to Vir- 
ginia after the rate of eleven pounds the Heiffer and Shee Goats att 3": 
ID' apeec for w"'' hee might take any Comodities in Virginia att such 
prizes as the Company here had sett downe hee desired y* those words 
might be more Cleerly explayned; And to this effect m'' Deputy sig- 
nified y* they had drawne a letter in the name of the Counsell and 
Company vnto m'' Gookin declaringe that their intent and meaninge was 
itt should be lawfull and ffree for him and his ffacto" to Trade barter and 
sell all such Comodities hee shall carry thither att such rates and prizes 
as hee shall thinke good and for his Cattle shall receive either of the 
Gouernor or other pryvate psonns any of the Comodities there growinge 
att such prizes as he cann agree; And lastly y* accordinge to m'' Gookins 
request in his said Ire they had promised y* hee should have a Pattent 
for a pticularr Plantacon as large as y* graunted to S' William Newce and 
should allso have liberty to take lOO Hoggs out of the fforrest vppon 
condicon that hee repay the said nomber againe vnto the Company within 
the tearme of seaven years; Provided that hee vse them for breed and 
encrease and not for present slaughter. 

And further to this effect they had allso drawne a letter to the Gouer- 
nor and Counsell of State in Virginia both w'"'' beinge now p'sented and 
read the Court did very well approve of and gave order that the Seale of 



40 VOYAGE TO VIRGINIA 

the Counsell should be affixed to that addressed to m' Gookin and that 
some of y" Counsell should signe the other to the Counsell of Virginia.^ 

On the twelfth of the next month, August, 1621, seven mem- 
bers of the Council signed a letter to the colonial authorities, 
which was sent by the ship "Marmaduke," and contained the 
following paragraph: 

Wee send you againe copies of the letters and agreements with Mr. 
Gookin and recomend his good entertainment to you, and in particuler we 
seriously advise that you do your best endevors to pay him in tobacco 
though at one D waight the cow, and to take as few cows as possible may 
be uppon mony heare to be paid by the company; because our stocke is 
utterly wasted ; let him have very good tobacco for his cowes now at his 
first voiadge, for if he make a good return it may be the occasion of a 
trade with you from those parts, whereby you may be abundantly supplied, 
not only with cattle, but with the most of these commodities that you 
want att better and easier rate than we from hence shalbe able.^ 

Shortly after this letter was dispatched Daniel Gookin set 
sail for Virginia in "The Flyinge Harte, " which he had char- 
tered for the voyage. This voyage was in sharp contrast to 
that of Sir William Newce, who preceded Daniel by about a 
month, and, arriving at his destination in October, accom- 
panied by "very few people, sicklie, ragged and altogether 
w'thout p'visione, "^ died suddenly a few days after landing. 
Far different is the tale of Daniel Gookin's arrival, as told by 
Governor Wyatt and his council, in a letter written in Jan- 
uary, 1621/2, to the Company in London. 

There arriued heere about the 22th of Nouember a shipp from M' 
Gookin out of Ireland wholy vppon his owne Adventure, withouteany rela- 
tione at all to his contract w**" you in England, w"'' was soe well furnished 
with all sorts of p'visione, as well as with Cattle as wee could wyshe all 
men would follow theire example, hee hath also brought with him aboute 
50 men upon that Aduenture, besides some 30 other Passengers, wee haue 
Accordinge to their desire seated them at Newports news, and we doe 
conceiue great hope yff the Irish Plantation p'per y* frome Ireland greate 
mulititude of People wilbe like to come hither. 



'Records of the Virginia Co., i, 501-502. 

* Neill. The Virginia Co., p. 240. 

'Gov. Wyatt to the Company. Neill, Virginia Co., p. 374. 



2 



ARRIVAL AT NEWPORT NEWS 41 

M'' Pountis hath had some conference with y* M"' of the Irish shipp a 
Dutchman, whose name ys Cornelius Johnson of Home in Hollande, who 
who is soe farr in love with this Countrey as he intendeth to return hither; 
within this Twelve moneth, and of him selfe offered to p'cure and bringe 
ouer a fitt m"^ workman to build Sawinge mills heere w'*" shall goe with 
the winde.^ 

Daniel's arrival was chronicled also by Captain John Smith 
in his "Generall Historie of Virginia." 2 

162 1 — The 22"* of November arrived Master Gookin out of Ireland, 
with fiftie men of his owne and thirtie Passengers, exceedingly well fur- 
nished with all sorts of Provision and cattle and planted himself at Nupors- 
Newes. The cotton in a yeere grew so thick as one's arme, and so high 
as a man: here anything that is planted doth prosper so well as in no 
place better. 

The day before Daniel landed in Virginia the Company in 
London held a meeting at which 

M' Deputy gaue notice of nine Patents nowe presented in Court to 
passe the seale of the Companie hauinge been perticulerly examined by 
the mornings Court w''^ did approue of them w"*" Patents were of Two 
sorts the one of such as were Aduenturers by moneys paid into the Treas- 
ury for w'^'' they had allowed I GO acres of land for euery single share of 
Twelue pounds Ten shillings the other beinge for Planters only who had 
allowed fifty acres for euery person transported to Virginia : Accordinge 
to w''*' two formes the said Patents were drawne and accordingly engrossed 
ready for the Seale. 

Among these patents was one "To Daniell Gookin of 
Corke, in Ireland, x" 300 psons." 

When, in March, 1622, the news of Daniel's safe arrival in 
Virginia reached London, it was hailed with joy. At a meet- 
ing of the Virginia Company, held on March thirteenth: 

M'' Deputy signified that he had receaued of late certaine intelligence 
that m*^ Gookins Shippe was arriued in Virginia with 40 younge Cattle 
well and safely landed, he therefore moued that forasmuch as diuers 
others might be much encouraged vpon this good newes to transport 
Cattle out of Ireland thither vpon reasonable condicons, that a Ire might 
be writt to m' Gookin by way of offer that if any should be pleased to 
vndertake the like performance they shall haue for euery Heifer safely 
deliuered in Virginia 100 waigt of good marchantable Tobacco w"''' mocon 

1 Neill's Virginia Co., pp. 285, 286. 
^ London 1624, p. 140. 



42 THE INDIAN MASSACRE 

was well approued of and order giuen for a letter to be drawne to y* 



effect.^ 



Evidently the price of eleven pounds per head for heifers, 
specified in the contract with Daniel Gookin, was not so greatly 
to his disadvantage as his agent contended while the negotia- 
tions were pending, for, at a court held on October 24, 1621, 
" Notice was allso given that ther were certaine suf^cient men 
come out of Ireland who would vndertake to transporte manny 
hundreds of Cattle to Virginia this Springe vppon the same 
Condicons that m"^ Gookin had donne."^ And again, at a court 
held on April 3, 1622: 

m' Depty signified that vpon a proposicon formerly made, vpon the 
good successe it pleased God to giue m"" Gookin this last Sumer in 
transportinge his people and cattle safely to Virginia certen gentlemen of 
Ireland nowe in Towne beinge much encouraged and not able to stay till 
next yeare made an offer to vndertake the like performance as m"' Gookin 
had donn, so they might knowe and be assured aforehand at what rates 
they should be able to put of their Cattle in Virginia at their cominge 
there w""" offer the Court takinge into consideracon did at length agree 
for that the better encouragement of such vndertakers they should haue 
for euery Heifer of our right English breed of twoe years old and vpwards 
deliuered safe and sound in Virginia allowed them there either 130 waight 
of Tobacco or ii" in money at their eleccon for w'^'' they should haue the 
Companies Seale for their security.' 

On March 22, 1621/2, just four months to a day after 
Daniel Gookin first placed foot upon the soil of Virginia, the 
great massacre by the savages took place, when, out of a total of 
about four thousand settlers then in the colony, three hundred 
and forty-seven were slain. "This lamentable and so unex- 
pected disaster," says Captain John Smith, "drave them all to 
their wits' end. It was twenty or thirty daies ere they could 
resolve what to doe: but at last it was concluded all the petty 
Plantations should be abandoned, and drawne only to make 
good five or six places. Now for want of boats it was impos- 
sible on such a sudden to bring also their Cattle and many 
other things, which they had then in possession, all of which 

' Records of the Virginia Co., i, 618. 
* Records of the Virginia Co., i, 535. 
^ Records of the Virginia Co., i, 626." 



RETURN TO LONDON 43 

for the most part at their departure, was burnt, ruined, and 
destroyed by the Salvages. Only Master Gookins at Nuport's- 
news would not obey the Commissioners' command in that, 
though he scarce had five and thirty of all sorts with him, yet 
he thought himself sufficient against what could happen, and 
so did, to his great credit, and the content of his Adventurers," * 

Presumably Daniel and his people had not wasted their 
time during the four months since they landed, but had buik 
habitations of some sort, which, for security, were surrounded 
by palisades. In the Virginia Planters' answer to "Captain 
Butler's Informacon concerning the Colony," which was writ- 
ten only a year later, it is stated "ther is as yett no other 
Artificiall Fortificacons then Pallisadoes wherof allmost euerie 
Plantacon hath one & diuers of them hath Trenches. . . . 
As for great Ordinance, . . . there are likewise at Newporte 
Newes three, all of them servicable." 

Among the manuscripts in the possession of the Duke of 
Manchester is a letter from William Hobart to his father, in 
which it is stated that Mr. Gookin, at whose house Governor 
Wyatt and his wife were staying, had but seven men left, that 
it was unsafe to go out to labour without an armed guard, that 
there had been a second massacre of between twenty and thirty 
persons, and that there was very little tobacco or coin in the 
colony. 2 This letter is without date, but was probably written 
in April, 1622. 

At the end of this month, or early in May, Daniel Gookin 
left the new plantation in charge of his servants and embarked 
for England in the "Sea Flower," carrying to the company in 
London the first intelligence of the disaster that had overtaken 
the colonists. The records of the Virginia Company show 
that he was in London and attended the court held on the 19th 
of June. Strangely enough no mention of the news of the mas- 

^Generall Historic, p. 150. The same account is given by Purchas, who says: 
"Master Gookins at Nuports-Newes, hauing thirtie fiue of all sorts with him refused 
that order and made good his part against the sauvages." Purchas, His Pilgrims ; iv, 
1792. In the same book, iv, 1785, it is stated that "Master Daniel Gookin" was the 
tenth in a list of 26 patentees to whom patents were granted in 1620, and who had 
"Vndertaken to transport great multitudes of people and cattle to Virginia." 

2 Eighth Report Hist. MSS. Com., p. 41 



44 PATENT APPROVED 

sacre having been received appears upon the minutes; but that 
is no doubt attributable to the custom of recording only mat- 
ters upon which formal action was taken. 

Daniel's first business in London was to secure the fruits 
of his enterprise, in the shape of a patent to his plantation. 
He was present at the Preparative Court of the Virginia Com- 
pany, held on July i, and at the morning session of the Quar- 
ter Court, held two days later, when his patent was approved 
for confirmation at the afternoon session. ^ At this session was 
confirmed, also, Daniel's purchase, made soon after his arrival 
in Virginia, of 150 acres of land " lyinge at Newports Newes."^ 
It was perhaps upon this tract that he made the beginning of 
his plantation, which he named Marie's Mount, in honour of his 
wife. The seignory for which he received a patent was nom- 
inally 2500 acres, but actually the tract set aside to him contained 
only 168 1 acres according to an exact survey made in the year 

1685.3 

Flushed with the success that had attended his Virginia 
enterprise, Daniel now decided to take a share in the New 
England Company. The minutes of the Council of that cor- 
poration recite that on July 5, 1622, " It is agreed upon that m' 
Gookyn shall bee admitted in y« new Grant upon payment of 
his adventure." Being still in London on July 17 he attended 
the court of the Virginia Company, held that day, and was 
appointed one of a committee of seven to consider what course 
should be taken to preserve from "loss and imbeazellinge" 
the goods of the colonists slain by the Indians at the time of 
the great massacre. Five days later he took out his patent 
from the crown to the 500 acres in county Longford which he 
had sold to Francis Edgeworth three years before. After 
this he was at last free to return to his home and family in 
Ireland. 

Our next glimpse of Daniel is found in the diary of Lord 
Cork, where the following entry was made on January 19, 
1622/3. 

^ Records of the Virginia Co., ii, 65, 73, 90. 

Hbid., ii, 89. 

' Grant to William Cole, April, 1685, recorded in Warwick Co. , Va. 



THE SHIP PROVIDENCE 45 

M'' Daniell gookin made & perfected vnto me a generall Release of 
all his right & demaund of and in the Manor of Bever als Carrickeleyn, 
for which (besides what I paid Sir Warham St. Leger) I paid M"" Gookin 
one thousand two hundreth and ffiftie pounds ster: And made him a lease 
therof for 22 yeares at C" per annum. & now in regard he extinguished 
the Lease I made him by passing me a ffyne & Release, I renewed his 
lease for 18 years from Michas Last, vppon his surrender of my former 
lease I made him, he promising me to make all his vndertenants new 
leases on the same Rents & condicions they held before: of this mannor 
he lets owt as muche as yelds him cl". ster: a year, besides the Kings 
rent and my Rent : & Keeps the house & 660 acres of the best Land free 
in his own occupation; which is ritchly worth one C" ster: more per 
annum : M"" Thomas petley of whome M' gookin purchazed it, hath also 
sithens Released to me all right & errors in the ffyne.^ 

As the purchasing power of money in the first quarter of 
the seventeenth century was for most purposes from eight to 
ten times as great as it is to-day, it will be seen that Daniel 
Gookin's income of about two hundred and fifty pounds a 
year from Carrigaline was a very comfortable one. 

After his return to Ireland Daniel set about dispatching 
another ship with planters and cattle for Virginia. There is 
no evidence that he made a second voyage himself. Indeed, 
though "The Flyinge Harte" had happily braved the perils of 
the deep, his experience in crossing the Atlantic in a small ship 
bearing, besides the crew, some eighty passengers and forty 
head of cattle, cannot have been so agreeable as to invite repe- 
tition unless as a matter of necessity.^ Daniel Gookin's second 
venture was the sending of the "Providence" — which was per- 
haps owned by him — in charge of Captain John Clarke who, 
three years before, had piloted the Mayflower on her memor- 
able voyage.^ The arrival of the Providence at its destina- 

^Lismore Papers, Ser. I, ii, 67-68. That the lease to Gookin did not include 
all of Lord Cork's interest in Carrigaline is shown by another entry in his diary on 
April 3, 1624 : "This daie I agreed with Mr. Thomas Petlei's wife to make her a new 
lease in Rivercon for xvij yeares of the spiritualities of Bever alias Carrickeleyn, 
encreasing her Rent from the beginning of her new lease she is to paie me 40 marks 
ster : and afterwards cxxvj//. xiijj iiijrt^. ster : per annum, and defraie & bear all other 
chardges, ordinary and extraordenary, & fynde a sufficient curate." Ibid., ii, 125. 

^ For a graphic account of such a voyage see William Capp's letter to Deputy Fer- 
rar, printed in Neill's "Virginia Vetusta," p. 131. 

'Brown. The Genesis of the United States, ii, 855. 

The minutes of the Virginia Co. contain this reference to Clarke, under date of 
February 13, 1621/2: "M"^ Deputy acquainted the Court that one M^Jo: Clarke 



46 A DISTRESSING VOYAGE 

tion, on April lo, 1623, is chronicled by Christopher Davison, 
Treasurer of the colony, in a letter from "James Cittye" to 
Deputy Ferrar: 

The Margett and John accounted a loss ship (after a long and tedious 
passage, much distressed for want of sufficient provisions) arrived here 
about the 7th or 8th of Aprill : Not long after (about the loth day) the 
ship sent by M'. Gookin called (I think) the Providence came also to 
Newport's Newes." 

Governor Wyatt also wrote Ferrar: "Here are two Ships 
newly come in the Margarett and John of which wee were in 
despayre, and one from Mr. Gookin with 40 men for him and 
30 passengers besides: the first is in great distress for provi- 
sion and like to be burdensome to the Countrey for that: the 
other very scant also, both having been long out, and suffered 
extreamly in their passage." And at the meeting of the Vir- 
ginia Company on November 19, 1623, the Deputy presented 
a list of ships that "traded in Virginia this Summer," among 
them "M'' Gookin's ship — 080: Tunns." 

So far as we know this second ship was the last that Dan- 
iel Gookin sent to Virginia. The venture could hardly have 
been a profitable one. If, as is most likely, he brought back 
a cargo of tobacco, he may have had to dispose of it at a 
heavT loss, for in 1623 the London market was overstocked 
with that commodity. But aside from this the promised rec- 
ompense for transporting seventy colonists in the Providence 
was not forthcoming. Because of the difficulties in which the 
Virginia Company was involved in the latter part of 1623, and 
which resulted in the abrogation of its charter a few months 
later, the patent for the land to which Daniel was entitled could 
not be issued. This, as may be imagined, was a grievous 
disappointment. Not until February 25, 1634/5 — two years 

beinge taken from Virginia long since by a Spanisli Shippe that came to discouer that 
Plantacon. That forasmuch as he hath since that time donn the companie good 
seruice in many voyages to Virginia, he was an humble suitor to this court, that he 
might be admitted a free brother of the Companie, and have some shares of land 
bestowed upon him." He was admitted and given two shares. Clarke was born 
about 1576 and was a pilot by professi on. He sailed for Virginia with Dale in i6ll, 
and at Point Comfort, in the summer of that year, was taken prisoner by the Span- 
iards and held until about 1616. He died in Virginia soon after his arrival there in 
the Providence. 




Daniel Gookin's rapier, and cane carried by his grandson, Daniel Gookin, 

of Worcester, Massachusetts. Now in the possession of 

their descendant, Charles T. Tatman. 



SERVANTS AT MARIES MOUNT 



47 



after Daniel's decease — did the Council of State for Virginia 
authorize the issuance of the patent, and it was almost three 
years later before it was actually executed and delivered to 
his son. 

Thus, it will be seen, a considerable part of Daniel Gook- 
ins' capital was either tied up in this claim, or had found its 
way into the plantation at Marie's Mount. Upon this planta- 
tion he maintained a considerable number of servants. The 
muster of the inhabitants of Virginia, taken between January 
20 and February 7, 1624/5, gives the names of twenty who were 
then on the place. ^ 



Newportes 
newes ^^ 



DANNIELL GOOKINES MUSTER 

Servantes 



William Wadsworth aged : 26 

William Foockes aged: 24 

Thomas Curtis aged : 24 

Peter Sherwood aged: 21 

Gilbert Whitfild aged : 23 

Rise Griffin aged : 24 

William Smith aged : 23 

Anthonie Ebsworth aged : 26 



All w"*" Came in the F/yinj^e Harte 
1621 : 



Isaye Dely warr aged : 22 

Henry Carsley aged : 23 

Roger Walker aged : 22 

Edmond Morgan aged : 22 

William Clarke aged: 25 

Joseph Mosley aged: 21 

John Parratt aged : 36 

Robart Smith aged : 22 

William Croney aged : 24 

William Longe aged : 19 

Anne Ebsworth aged : 44 

Elinor Harris aged: 21 

Dead in this Plantato 
one Armestronge 



in the Prouidence 
1623 



'Hotten's Original Lists, p. 243. 



48 TWO FAITHFUL SERVANTS 

From the lists of the residents at other plantations we have 
also the names of five others of the passengers whom Daniel 
Gookin brought in The Flyinge Harte in i62i,viz.: Philip 
Chapman, John Chisman, Joane Godby, John Curtis, and 
Elizabeth Ibottson.^ 

The first manager of the Marie's Mount plantation was 
Richard Griffin, who appears to have been engaged for a term 
of five years. When he relinquished his charge on November 
i6, 1626, "John Thurlby merchant, Thomas Coe and William 
Streets, mariners, in the behalfe of Daniel Gookinge of Cary- 
goline in the county of Cork within the kingdome of Ireland 
esq"'" conveyed to him "in consideration of the good and hon- 
nest service the said Daniel Gooking and his assignes have 
had and reced from the said Richard Griffin . . . one hun- 
dred acres of land being part of the land belonging to the 
lordshipp of the said Daniel Gooking scituate and lyeth above 
Newport News at the place now called Maries Mount." 
Griffin was succeeded by Thomas Addison, who continued 
as manager until January, 1630/1, when, at his retirement, he 
was similarly rewarded for his faithful service by a gift of one 
hundred and fifty acres, conveyed to him by "Daniell Gook- 
ing of Newport News in Virginia, gent ... in the behalfe of 
his father," Daniel Gookin of Carrigaline.^ 

' Hotten's Lists, pp. 250, 252, 253, 254. 
'Records of the General Court of Virginia. 




CHAPTER V 




N February, 1622/3, Daniel Gookin was in 
London, where he attended both sessions of an 
*' Extraordinary Court" of the Virginia Com- 
pany, held on the fourth of that month; but his 
name does not appear in the list of those present 
at the "Great and Generall Quarter Court," held 
on the following day. He was, however, still in 
London and attended the next "Quarter Court" on May 14, 
but was back in Ireland and at his home in Carrigaline when 
his father died there on June 23, in "perfect mind and mem- 
dVy" to the last, according to the witnesses to the nuncupative 
will the old gentleman made a few hours before he passed away. 
By this will John Gookin constituted his son Vincent his execu- 
tor, bequeathed to him the key of his chest, and left the distri- 
bution of his remaining estate to Vincent's discretion, 

Daniel was in London again a year later, endeavouring to 
secure his patent from the Virginia Company. He attended the 
court on June 7, 1624, which, as it turned out, was the last that 
the company was to hold, for on June 16 its charter was form- 
ally revoked by Chief Justice Ley. Nothing has yet come to 
light by which Daniel's movements during the next five years 
may be traced. In January, 1624/5, his eldest brother, Thomas 
Gookin of Ripple Court, died; and in the autumn of 1628 
Daniel was in London, where he was a witness at the trial of 
a suit brought by his brother-in-law Thomas Milton against 
Jane Gookin the widow of Thomas, to compel her as her hus- 

49 



50 PRESSING DEBTS 

band's executrix to pay a bond made by Thomas Gookin upon 
which Milton was Hable as surety and which Jane tried to 
avoid on the plea that it was Milton's obligation. ^ 

On February 26, 1628/9, ^^e Earl of Cork, who was then 
in London, made the following entry in his diary: 

M' Gookin conveighed his lease of carrickelyn to the two Bedlees, 
and M' W" petley (to thvse of his wife), which petley hath thassignment, 
and the Bp of Corke hath in deposite the orrigenall lease of carrickleyn 
ffor C", for thuse wherof he hath xx" out of the Rents assigned him per 
annum : Mr. Gookin afErmeth he paid M' Th° Petlie for thinheritance 
of carrickelyn sixteen hundreth pounds, & that he sowld it vnto me for 
1250'', and a lease therof for 22 years delivered at C' per annum, which 
he gayns 200'' a year by, and now xj years ar therof expired, he will not 
seale the remayn of his tearm vnder 1000" ster. 

Nota: he made a former assurance therof to old M' gookin, to thuse 
of M" gookin, & Vincent is his exc.^ 

In March, 1629, Mary Gookin was in London, for Lord 
Cork set down in his diary: "I lent Mrs Gookin 20'' in golde, 
on her husbands bill, to be repaid the last of g'"''^"^ He noted 
this again on April 2, the item "To M'' daniell Gookins wife, 
on his bill, xx^','' appearing in a list of "The moneis I have 
lent since I came to London." 

Daniel's transatlantic ventures had not yielded the rich har- 
vest he anticipated, and now at the age of forty-seven he found 
himself so greatly in need of money that he was compelled 
to dispose of the lease of Carrigaline, which had already been 
pledged to secure various debts. On June 15, 1629, Lord 
Cork, who was still in London, noted in his diary: 

I have agreed with M' danyell Gooking to give him eight hundreth 
pounds ster : for his lease I made him of my mannor of Carrickeleyn, he 
making me such assurance therof as my councell shall devise: I haue 
formerly on his bill lent him 2o'', which is to goe in part payment, and 
this day delivered him other v'': other moneis I am to furnish him heer 
withall to carry him and his wife with into Ireland, where at Michas I 
am (vppon my assurance [being] perfected) to make y* up 800", and at 
Michas he is to yeald me vp the quiett possession, to cleer the B[ishop] of 
Corke, Luke Brady, his brother, vincent Gookin, to deliver me vp his 

'See supra, p. 17 

'Lismore Papers, Ser. I, ii, 302, 303. 

'Ibid., 306. 



SALE OF CARRIGALINE LEASE 51 

orrigenall lease, His assigmt to the 2 Bellews & Wm petley in truste, and 
to yeald vp to me all the counterparts of the leases he hath made, and 
them I am to make good.^ 

A week later Cork arranged to make a lease of the castle 
and ploughland of Carrigaline, to Mr. Thomas Daunt of Trac- 
ton Abbey, for the "Remaynder of danyell gookins lease" at 
an increase of v^' xv« ster above the rental paid by Daniel for 
the entire manor.^ The following entries show in detail how 
the sale of the lease was consummated, and also that Daniel's 
passion for colonial ventures was not yet abated. 

31 June 1629 (London). 

I entered into bond of 200'' to Sir ffardinando George for payment of 
one C' for M' Gookin, this 15 of October next at M' Burly machies howse. 
this is my debt and goeth in part payment of the 800'' I haue, and am to 
paie M"" gookin for the lease I made him of carrickeleyn, which this daie 
he hath covenanted to assigne over in truste to M' W™ Wiseman for my 
use; & I formerly paid him xxv^'. Then he is at Michas to abate me 50" 
for my Michas Rent & iiij^' x' for the King's Rent soe as at Michas next 
620'' 10' ster:, when he hath made my assurance, and delivered M' wise- 
man the possession to my vse.^ 

I July 1629 (London). 

I sent letters to M"" wiseman to receav of M' walley 620" x^ ster: to 
satisfi M' gookin with, for his lease I bought of him of carrickelyne to M' 
wiseman: tharticles between me and M' gookin; the coppie of my lo. 
bicshop noat for thorrigenall lease thereof : The coppie of M"" gookins 
deed in truste made to his ffather to his vse, with directions to M' wiseman 
how to manadg that purchaze for me, and to take thassurances from M' 
gookin, from his brother vincent, from both M"' Bellewes, & from W" 
petley in his name in truste to my vse, to deliver it over to M'' Th° daunt 
as my tenant on Michas day, who is to paie me 105'' 15' ster: a year for 
it. And I wrott to M'' walley to paie that 620'' IC when M' wiseman 
should require y' for M' gookin.* 

22 February 1629/30 (Dublin) 

I sent the wrytings between M"" danyell gookin & my self with my 
directions to M' W™ Wiseman by John Turner to Sir Randall cleyton, 
with request to him to satisfie M' danyell gookin 605" ster : & I deliv- 
ered M"^ gookin his bond Si. myne of 200'' for the payment of one O' 
wherin I stood bound to him for payment therof, & his bill to my cozen 
Stockdale for payment of V" which I am to satisfy, which makes cxxx'' 

' Lismore Papers, Ser. I, ii, 326, 327. 
' Lismore Papers, Ser. I, ii, 328. 
Ubid.,ii, 329,330- 
■• Lismore Papers, Ser. I, ii. 



52 SAINT BRANDAN'S ISLE 

he hath had of me in parte of 800'' I am to pay him for his Interest in 
Carrickeleyn : The C' I paid to Sir ffardinandoe George.^ 

7 October, 1630. 
Sir Randall cleyton paid for me to M"" danyell Gookin (as the remayn 
for the purchase of the lease of carrickleyn) 615'' 3' 9^ the Kings Rent 
for Easter 1630, iiij •' xiij' xj'*, ffor my Easter Rent and ffees 50", To Mr 
Stockdale, for his debt, 5", I paid for him to Sir fiardinando George by 
our bond C'; I lent him in London xxv'': And in this manner his 800^' 
was paid him.^ 

Vincent Gookin at this time was serving as high sheriff 
of the County of Cork, in which post he acquitted himself so 
well that on February 13, 1630/1, Lord Cork knighted him in 
the Council Chamber at Dublin. 

Still allured by visions of fortune to be gained in lands 
beyond the seas, Daniel sought and obtained from King Charles 
a grant of the mythical Saint Brandan's isle, then thought to 
lie somewhere in the north Atlantic, off the west coast of Ire- 
land. His petition to the King was in these words: 

To the Kings Most excellent Ma*'* 

The humble Peticon of Daniel Gookin gent. 

Sheweth that whereas y® Petitioner is, and hath for manie yeers beine 
not only a great affecter and Wellwisher to all the new Plantatons in y* 
late discouered Hands and Continents in and beyond y* Seas. Butt also a 
Planter and Aduenturer in the most of them himself; Holding those 
workes to bee of great consequence and tending both to y* glorie of God 
for y propogating of Christian Religion in places where for the most 
savage and heathen people did live and inhabit: Also to the great strength- 
ening and enritching of manie Christian Monarchs Princes theire King- 
doms and subjects, whoe by honest and industrious courses, doe discouer 
and bring in such comodities, and ritches into your Ma*' Dominions as 
those places and Hands doe affoard, w'^'' often prooue bothe necessarie 
and proffitable to your Ma*'^ and your subjects. 

And for that y* Petitioner hath had credible notice and informacon 
by diuers English travellers merchants and other gent expert in maritane 
affaires and discoueries of a ^ ^rtaine Hand lying in y® maine Ocean Sea 
betweene y" degrees of fiftie one and fiftie five of Northerlie latitude, and 
distant West and by South about three hondred leagues from y" Blasques 
in your Ma" Realme of Ireland : w'='' said Hand being heretofore discouered 
in part, was named and called Saint Brandon or the Isle de Verde, and is 

^Lismore Papers, Ser. I, iii, 19. 
*Ibid., iii, 55. 



DANIEL GOOKIN'S PATENT 53 

likely to prooue very vsefull and pfituous to both your Ma*' said King- 
doms of England and Ireland, and to affoard and yield them much ffish 
with manie other valuable comodities and ritches in respect of the ppin- 
quitie and neare neighborhood thervnto. 

Humblie therefore beseecheth your Ma*'* to graunt y® said Hand 
by the said names, or by some other name and certainties by your 
Ma*° letters Patents vnder y* great seale of England vnto the Petitioner 
in as liberall and beneficiall manner and forme, and with as large pre- 
leminents and Immunities for y" planting and enioying thereof w**" the 
bordering Islands (if anie bee) as your Ma*'" hath bein pleased to 
graunt Nova Scotia and other places and Islands to S' William Alex- 
ander, Knight, and others your Ma*' loving subjects in y* like cases. 
And to give warrant to your Ma*' Attorney gennerall to prepare a bill 
for your Roiall Signature, for the speedie passing therof accordingly. 
That y" Petitioner maie haue power and encouragement further to 
discouer and plant the same Island. 

And the Petitioner shall dailie praie &c. 

The endorsement by Secretary Coke shows that the king 
received the petition with favour. 

Whitehall i March, 1630. 

His M*® grasious pleasure is that M"" Atturney p« pare for his royal 
signature a Grant to the Pet't'oner of this Islande and the Islands neare 
adjacent if anie bee as here desired: w**" such ample and conuenient priu- 
eleges and powers as have been graunted to other discouerers and planters 
in like cases, JOHN COKE. 

On a sheet adjoining the foregoing petition of Mr. Gookin 
is, in a quaint, peculiar form of writing with abbreviations, etc., 
the following, viz.: 

Particular instructions to be putt in to the pattent for Daniell Gokein 
als Gookin: 

First to have free transportacon of all manner of live cattle, as Horses, 
Mares, Cowes, heifers, sheepe, goats and swine Custom free or to be 
allowed bills of store for 7 years. 

Alsoe to Covennte to renew the pattent after the discouery of the Hand 
or Hands which shall be founde betweene Ireland and Newfoundland 
lying, between the degrees of 50 and 55. that his Ma*'" would take but 
the 20**" part of the silver or gold mynes if anie be discovered and wrought 
upon. 

It is unlikely that Daniel Gookin tried to make use of this 
patent; no evidence now existing shows any attempt by him 
to find the phantom isle. 



54 HIS DEATH 

In May, 163 1. the twelve years' litigation over the loan 
made by Daniel to Jordan Condon came to an end. Daniel 
having brought suit against David Power, one of Condon's 
sureties, Power sought to escape liability by filing a counter 
bill against Daniel in the High Court of Chancery. Answer- 
ing, Daniel pleaded that the bill was 'S^exatious and for the 
purpose of delay." The court sustained this view and at last 
Daniel got his judgement. This is the last glimpse w^e get of 
him. After the sale of his lease of Carrigaline he removed to 
the City of Cork and was of Red Abbey in the parish of St. 
Fin Barr when he died, in February or March, 1632/3. On 
April 3 of that year letters of administration upon his estate 
were granted to his widow and his son Edward (then a boy of 
about eighteen), the bonds being signed by Mary Gookin and 
her son Richard. 




Apparently there was little to administer. The inventory 
of the decedent's goods, made soon after his death, will per- 
haps be of interest to his descendants. 

An Inventory of the goods of Daniel Gookin, late of Red Abbey 
deceased, taken by us Thomas Bate of Gill Abbey Merchant & Philip 
Darrell Gent. & appraised by us the S"" day of March 1633 by virtue 
of a commission to us directed from the Consistory Court of Cork. 

£ s. d. 
Imprimis, two field bed steads with testers curtains & val- 

lances, being decayed & apprized at .... OI. GO. 00 
Item three feather beds, two flock beds, two bolsters, & six 

pillows, being old and decayed valued at . . . 04. CO. 00 
Item, three rugs, one caddow & four blankets . . .01. 00. 00 
Item, t\vo little tables, four small stools and two old 

chairs at DO. 06. 08 



INVENTORY OF GOODS 55 

IN A TRUNK £ s. d. 

Item, seven pairs of old sheets, six tablecloths four cub- 
bert cloathes, three doz of napkins, four towels, six 
pillobeares and a suit of child bed linen valued at . 05. lo. OO 

IN ANOTHER SMALL TRUNK 

Item, four bearing blankets, two wrought pillobearers & 

three pincushions valued at 02. 00. 00 

IN ANOTHER SMALL TRUNK 

Item, two cloth suits, one cloak, six pair of stockings, one 

hat & a sword of the deceased valued at . . .03 00. 00 
Item, one little jug and a desk apprized at . . . . OO. 04. 00 

IN A HAMPER 

Item, two chamber pots, one pint pot, one quart pot, three 
pewter dishes, one little flagon and a pewter band pot 
valued at 00. 06. 08 

Item, one old brass pot, one pair pot hooks, two iron 
crocks, one pair of tongs, lire shovels & one Smooth- 
ing iron apprized at 00. 10 00 

Item, two silver beer bowls, one wine bowl, two salt-cel- 
lars, whereof one a trencher salt & twelve silver spoons 
apprized at 06 13 04 

Item, one book of Cooper's works, one of Boulton's & 

three of Prestones in quarto and one Bible . . .01. 00. 00 

Item, two thousand suttle pounds of tobacco, the greater 

part whereof hath taken wet, valued at 3*^ the pound . 25. 

Item, an old pair of virginals valued at 00 

Item, a small nag, & old mare & a coult of two weeks 

old 03 

Item, the fourth part of a boat of seven tunes . . . 02. 

DESPERATE DEBTS 
Item, one bill of Lazerus Havarde for one pound sixteen shillings & eight 

pence sterling valued at [amount not stated]. 
Item, one bill of Captain Bruffes of twelve pounds sterling valued at 

[amount not stated]. 
Item, a bond of M' William Poore of Shangarry for payment of ;^40. 

Item, the rest of the intestates goods were made over to his children by 
ffeeffment in trust to Sir Vincent Gookin Knt., William Newce of 
Bandon Bridge, Esq. & William Booth of Lincolnshire in the realm 
of England before the intestate's decease. THOMAS BATE 

Philip Darrell 

Exhibited the lo''' September 1633 by Mary Gookin. 



00. 


00 


16 


00 


00 


00 


00 


00 



56 NAMES OF CHILDREN 

Daniel and Mary (Byrd) Gookin had five sons. Richard, 
the eldest, was born about 1609 and named after his grand- 
father. Dr. Byrd. At the time of his father's death he was 
apparently still a member of the paternal household, being 
described in the administrator's bond as " Richard Gookin of St. 
Finn Barre, Cork, Gent.," but as he did not serve as one of the 
administrators it may be that he was engaged in some occupa- 
tion that made it impracticable. Nothing has been learned 
about his career, though it is certain that he died before 1655, 
and fair to presume that he married, since he alone of all the 
members of the family could have been the father of "John 
Gookin of St. Dunstan's in the East, London, mariner," con- 
cerning whom also nothing is known except that on November 
21, 1665, being then a "bachelor aged about 28," he married 
"Mrs Francis Pitt of Stepney, widow, aged about 23."^ 

Edward, the second son, who was baptized at Ripple in 
161 1, died young. Next came Daniel, born toward the end of 
161 2; then John, who was perhaps the twin brother of Daniel; 
then a second Edward, probably born in 161 5, as he was old 
enough in April, 1633, to be constituted one of the administra- 
tors of his father's estate, yet still a minor, for his mother was 
appointed his guardian on the same day that the letters of 
administration were issued. He died, unmarried, before 1655. 

It may be that there was also a daughter Mary, born about 
1617, for, on July 2, 1635, ^ marriage license bond for the mar- 
riage of "Marie Gowkine" to "Hugh Bullock of London, 
gentleman"^ was filed in the City of Cork. It seems more 
likely, however, that "Mary Gowkine" was Daniel Gookin's 
widow. If so, the marriage did not take place, for about three 
weeks later Mary, who appears to have gone to visit the family 

^ Allegations for Mar. Lie. issued by Vicar-Gen. of Archbishop of Cant., 1660-8. 
Har. See. Pub., xxxiii, 152. 

'He was probably the Hugh Bullock of London, gentleman, who made his will 
October 20, 1649, being then aged seventy-two. It was probated November 2, 1650, 
(P. C. C. Pembroke, f. 168). No wife was mentioned in it. He left his estate in 
Virginia to his son William, who was probably the author of the well-known book, 
published in 1649, entitled "Virginia Impartially examined and left to publick view, 
to be considered by all Judicious and Honest Men." Mention was made of Wil- 
liam's wife Klizabeth, and children Robert and Frances, and of the testator's sister 
Ann Mason and her daughter Ellinor Mason. 



CAPTAIN JOHN GOOKIN 57 

of her brother-in-law Sir Vincent Gookin, then living at Bitton 
in Gloucestershire, died and was buried there on July 27, 1635. 

Daniel and John, the third and fourth sons of Daniel 
Gookin, were probably away from home at the time of their 
father's death. We know that Daniel was at the Marie's 
Mount plantation as early as 163 1, when he was only eighteen, 
and not unlikely John may have been there with him. John's 
career was a short one. On October 17, 1636, he was granted 
500 acres of land on the Nansemond River in Virginia for 
transporting ten persons to the colony,^ and in the course of 
the next five years he had three additional grants aggregating 
1490 acres more. In 1637 or 1638 he was appointed one of the 
Commissioners for keeping monthly courts in Lower Norfolk, 
and in 1639 was a burgess for Upper Norfolk and attended the 
Grand Assembly that met in James City on January 6.2 A 
few days prior to February 4, 1640/1 he married Sarah the 
relict of Captain Adam Thorowgood of Lynn Haven, Lower 
Norfolk county. Captain Thorowgood was one of the prin- 
cipal men of the colony. His wife Sarah was the fifth daughter 
of Robert Offley, Turkey merchant of Grace street, London, 
whose wife Ann was the daughter of Sir Edward Osborne, 
Knt., Lord Mayor of London, 1583, by his wife Ann, daughter 
and sole heir of William Hewitt, Lord Mayor of London, 1559, 
"a merchant of great repute." Sarah OfBey was baptized at 
St. Benet's April 16, 1609, and was married to Adam Thorow- 
good at St. Anne's, Blackfriars, July 18, 1627. She bore him 
a son and three daughters, who were living at the time of her 
marriage to John Gookin. By her second husband she had one 
daughter, Mary Gookin, born in 1641 or 1642, who was married 
about 1660 to Captain William Moseley of Rolleston, Lower 
Norfolk, and after his death in 1671, became the second wife of 
Lieut. Colonel Anthony Lawson. 

In 1642 John Gookin had the title of Captain, and on March 
29, 1643, he was Commander at a court held for Lower Nor- 
folk. ' He died on November 2, 1643, being then only about 

Wa. Hist. Mag., Vol. 5, p. 458. 
nhid., Vol, 5, p. 435; Vol. 2, p. 99. 
' Lower Norfolk Co. Antiquary, i, 144. 



58 TOMBSTONE AT LYNN HAVEN 

thirty years of age. Four years later his widow was married 
to her third husband, Colonel Francis Yardley, son of Gover- 
nor Sir George Yardley. She died in August, 1657, and was 
buried beside John Gookin, at Church Point, Lynn Haven. 
The tombstone erected to their memory is the only one now 
readable of those formerly in the church-yard there, the others 
having been submerged or destroyed by the incursion of the 
sea. It bears the inscription: 

Here lieth y^ body of Capt John Gooking and also 

y' body of M" Sarah Yardley, who was wife to 

Capt. Adam Thorowgood first, Capt John 

Gooking & Collonell Francis Yardley, who 

deceased August 1657. 



PART III 
DANIEL GOOKIN OF CAMBRIDGE 





CHAPTER VI 

HE third son and namesake of Daniel Gookin 
of Carrigaline was born in the latter part of the 
year i6i2. His place of nativity remains a mat- 
ter of conjecture. When he was less than four 
years old his father was living in Ireland, so it 
may be assumed that Daniel's early boyhood was 
spent at Carrigaline and that later he was sent to 
England for his schooling. The earliest glimpse of him that we 
have reveals him in Viriginia, at his father's plantation, shortly 
after he had passed his eighteenth birthday. Among the rec- 
ords of the General Court is an indenture executed February 
I, 1630/1, "between Daniell Gooking of Newport Newes in 
Virginia, gent, of the one part and Thomas Addison late ser- 
vant to the said Daniell his father of the other part," whereby 
"the said Daniell Gooking younger, in the behalfe of his father, 
as well for and in consideration of the good and honnest ser- 
vice the said Daniel Gooking and his assignes have had and 
received from the said Thomas Addison, as alsoe for and in 
consideration of the yearly rent and other conditions hereafter 
mentioned and expressed, doe give, grant, assigne and coniirme 
unto the s"* Thomas Addison his heires one fifty acres of land, 
being part of the land belonging to the lordshipp of the said 
Daniel Gooking, is scituate and leyeth above Newport Newes 
at a place there now called Maries Mount."^ 

DeVries, the Dutch captain, wrote that on March 20, 1633, 

' New Eng. Hist, Gen. Register, i, 347. 

61 



62 



GRANT OF VIRGINIA LANDS 



he "anchored at evening, before Newport Snuw, where lived a 
gentleman of the name of Goegen."i Other than this there is 
nothing to show how long Daniel remained in the Colony at 
this time, unless it may be inferred from the date of the order 
of the General Court granting him 25CO acres of land upon 
the south side of James River, that he was still there in Feb- 
ruary, 1634/5. The language of the grant, which was not per- 
fected until nearly three years later, is as follows: 

To all to whome these p'sents shall come, I S"^ John Harvy, Kt: Gov- 
ernor, .... Know yee that I the said S"^ John Harvy Kt. doe w*'' the 
consent of the Counsell of State accordingly Give and graunt unto Dan- 
iell (jookin Esq"" tvvoe thousand five hundred acres of land, situate lying 
and being in the upper Countie of New Norfolke upon the northwest 
of Nansemond River beginning at the South East side of a Small Creeke, 
which lyeth in the midway betweene the mouth of Chuckatuck at New 
Town hundred Extending upwards upon Nansamond River South West 
and back into the woods North West, the said Twoe thousand five hun- 
dred acres of land being graunted unto him the said Daniell Gookin, by 
order of Court bearing date the 25*'' of ffebruary 1634 being alsoe due 
unto him the said Daniell Gookin by and for the transportation at his 
owne Expensts and charges of fiftie p'sons into this Colony whose names 
are in the record mentioned under this pattent, To Have and To Hold, 
etc., dated the 29th December 1637.^ 



Tho" Curtis 
W" Wadsworth 
J°° Thomas 
J°° Garner 
W'" Granger 
Griffin Marfin 
J°° Hillier 
J"" Scott 
Jon. Box 
Edw'' Morgan 
Tho° Browne 
Peter Norman 
Geo. Child 
Roger Blank 
Robert Smith 
W" Jewell 
W" Cooney 



Jon Curtis 
Gilbert Whitfield 
Hen. Price 
Phill Chapman 
J°° Roe 
Chas. Griffin 
Hugh Jones 
J"" Burden 
Jos. Mosly 
Wal. Manst 
Austin Norman 
Christ Elsworth 
Thomas Addison 
W™ Long 
W" Pensint 
W- Clarke 
Esay Delaware 



Wm. Smith 
Hugh Jones 
W'" Richards 
W'" Hooker 
Chas. Kenley 
W- Ellis 
Hen Coslay 
J°° Buckland 
Edwd. Burdon 
Benj. Box 
Hen. Norman 
Ann Elsworth 
Rodger Walker 
Thomas ffield 
Morgan Phillips 
Daniell Hopkinson 



' Neill, Virginia Carolorum, p. 83. 
* Records Va. Land Office, i, 511. 




Hatchment used at the funeral of Thomas Gookin, Esquire, 
of Ripple Court, Kent, in January, 1625. 



A DEFERRED RECOMPENSE 63 

The inclusion in this list of the names of four of the ser- 
vants of Daniel Gookin, Sr., who came in The Flying Harte 
in 1621, and of five others who were living in Elizabeth City 
when the census of February 16, 1623/4, was taken, and upon 
whose transportation into the colony the grant of land to the 
elder Daniel had already been based, suggests the possibility 
that this grant to his son may have been one of those made 
by complacent officials upon slender pretext of conformity to 
legal requirements, either for favour, or the payment of a small 
fee.^ As to the justice of the grant there can be no question. 
It was a part of the deferred recompense to Daniel's father, 
who had earned thirty-five hundred acres by transporting 
seventy colonists in the "Providence" in 1623.2 

Whether the alienation of the Marie's Mount plantation 
was of earlier or later date than this grant we do not know. 
It was conveyed by Daniel and John Gookin to John Chand- 
ler, but the language of the deed cannot be recovered and it 
is unlikely that its date will ever be known, as all the early 
records of Warwick county are destroyed and those of Eliza- 
beth City go back only to 1699. It is, however, referred to in 
a grant to William Cole, in April, 1685, of the remainder of 
the tract after deducting 100 acres conveyed to Richard Griffin 
on November 16, 1626, and the 150 acres given to Thomas 
Addison in 163 1. The grant to Cole reads: 

To all &c. Whereas &c., Now know yee that I the said Francis 
Lord Howard, Governor &c, doe with the advice and consent of the 
Councell of State accordly give and grant unto the Hon*''" William Cole, 
Esq., one of his Majesties Councell of State of this Colony ffowerteene 
hundred thirty and one acres of land twelve hundred and seaventeene 
acres whereof lyes in Warwick County & the remainder being twoe hun- 
dred and sixteene acres^ in Elizabeth Citty County commonly called 
Newports News according to the most ancient and lawfull bonds thereof 
being all that can be found upon an exact Survey of two thousand five 
hundred acres of Land formerly granted to Daniell Gookin Esq., except 
two hundred & fifty acres formerly conveyed and made over by the said 
Gookin whoe together with John Gookin conveyed the aforesaid ffourtene 

'See Campbell's History of Virginia, p. 350. 
^See supra, p. 46. 

^Obviously an error in the record, for 1217 acres and 216 acres give a total of 
1433, not 1431. 



64 SECOND MARRIAGE 

hundred thirty and one acres of land to John Chandler whoe conveyed the 
same to Capt. Benedict Stafford from whome the same was found to 
escheat in the Secretaries office under the hands and seals of John Page, 
Esq., escheator Gener^^ of Warwick k Elizabeth Citty Counties k a jury 
sworne before him for the purpose dated the third day of Aprill 1684 may 
appeare & was since granted to the said William Cole, Esq., and Capt. 
Roger Jones whoe made their composition according to Act & since by 
the said Roger Jones assigned Si, made over to the said William Cole, 
Esq., &c. 

Dated the 20th of Aprill, 1685. 

The fact that the conveyance to Chandler was made by- 
Daniel Gookin and John Gookin sets at rest all doubt that 
Captain John Gookin was Daniel's brother. 

When we get our next glimpse of Daniel he is in London. 
A license was granted by the Bishop of London, November 
II, 1639, for the marriage of Daniel Gookin, Gentleman, of the 
parish of St. Sepulchre, London, a widower, aged about 27, and 
Mary Dolling, of the parish of St. Dunstan in the West, Lon- 
don, a spinster, aged about 21, whose parents were dead. They 
were to marry at St. Sepulchre's, but, as the early registers 
of that parish were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1665, the 
precise date of the wedding cannot be determined. No record 
of Daniel's previous marriage has yet come to light. There 
is nothing to indicate whether it took place in England or in 
Virginia. The parentage of his second wife is also an unsolved 
problem. The parish register of St. Dunstan in the West 
reveals nothing about her, from which it may be inferred that 
her birthplace was in all probability elsewhere. 

In the interval between his two visits to Virginia there is 
reason to suppose that Daniel was, for a time at least, engaged 
in military service, possibly in England, but more likely in 
the Netherlands. Captain Edward Johnson, in his "Wonder 
Working Providence," calls him a "Kentish souldier," an 
appellation which would hardly have been bestowed because of 
his command of the trained bands in Virginia and Massachu- 
setts. Whatever the service, however, its duration could not 
have been longer than a very few years. 

Early in 1641, Daniel and Mary Gookin, with their infant 
son, set sail for Virginia to make their home in the new world. 



IN VIRGINIA 65 

Opening before Daniel there was the alluring prospect of ter- 
ritorial lordship made possible by the grant of land obtained 
three years before; whereas, being a younger son and possessed 
of only moderate means, the hope of acquiring a considerable 
landed estate in England must have seemed very far away. 
Though it is scarcely possible to doubt that he was already a 
Puritan when he came over, his religious faith cannot have been 
an impelling force in determining him to settle in Virginia. 
The impulse of the English Puritans to seek a refuge beyond 
the sea had been checked and the tide of emigration to New 
England had been brought almost to an end by the hopes 
which the assembling of the Long Parliament, the year before, 
had awakened. Moreover, intolerance of open non-conformity 
to the Church of England was then more marked in the 
southern colony than in the mother country. 

On his arrival in Virginia, Daniel proceeded to the Nanse- 
mond plantation and took up his residence there. His fellow 
colonists were not long in recognizing him as a man of ability. 
He was made a burgess and represented Upper Norfolk in 
the Grand Assembly which met at Jamestown January 12, 
1641/2.^ Upon the records his name appears as "Captain" 
Daniel Gookin, which very likely indicates that the title was 
acquired before he left England. However that may be, he 
was soon given the title in Virginia. "At a court holden at 
James Citty the nyne and twentyeth of June 1642. Present S' 
Willian Berkeley kn* Governo'' &c. Capt. John West M' 
Rich. Kemp Capt. William Brocas Capt. Christ Wormley Capt. 
Hum. Higginson. The comicon for the monethly court of 
Upp. Norfolke to be renewed and the com" to be as follow- 
eth: Capt. Daniell Gookin comander, M'' f?rancis Hough 
Capt. Tho. Burbage M' John Hill Mr. Olliver Spry, Mr 
Thomas Dew M"^ Randall Crew M'' Robert Bennett Mr 
Philip Bennett. The Capts. of trayned Bands to be as follow- 
eth: Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Thomas Burbage." 

It is interesting, in view of the circumstances of his later 
life, that the duties of these offices soon brought Daniel into 

* Va. Hist. Mag., ix, 51. 



66 ANOTHER LAND GRANT 

contact with the Indians of the neighborhood, and that one of 
the earhest of the occasions was at the instance of his brother 
John Gookin, for it is recorded in the order book of the Gen- 
eral Court of Virginia: 

At a Quarter Court holden at James Citty the 22th of November 
1642. Present S^ William Berkeley Knight . . . Whereas Capt. John 
Gookin hath represented to the Board certayne Outrages aud Robberyes 
committed by the Indians belonging to Nanzemond in the county of the 
lower Norfolke,The Court hath therefore ordered according to the request 
of the said Capt. John Gooking, That Authority be given to the Coman- 
der of the Upp. Norfolke either by Lre or Commicon to send to the Indian 
King of Nansimond that those Indians who have comitted the Outrages 
may be sent in to receive such condigne punishm* as the nature of the 
offense may justly merritt, as alsoe to restore the goods stollen, which if he 
shall refuse to pforme that then the said Comander shall have power to 
apprehend any of the Indians they can and to keepe them in hold untill 
satisfaccon and restitucon be accordingly made. 

In the autumn of this year Daniel received a patent for an 
additional fourteen hundred acres of land. 

"To all to whome, etc., . . . now know yee, that the said S' 
William Berkeley Kt. doe wth the Consent of the Counsell of State 
accordingly give and graunt unto Capt. Daniell Gookin ffourteen hundred 
acres of land situate or being in Rappahaunocke River about thirty-five 
miles upon the north side and beginning at a marked red ooke standing 
on the River side on the westward side of a pond of water and extending for 
length east north east three hundred and twentie pole unto a marked red 
ooke, and for breadth from the first mentioned marked tree by south, south- 
east line nigh unto the River side seaven hundred pole unto a marked white 
ooke standing on a point on the westward side of the mouth of a small 
creeke and soe extending for length East North East three hundred and 
twenty pole unto a marked pyne, and soe North North West parrallel to 
the River Course unto the second mentioned red ooke, the said ffourteen 
hundred acres of land being due unto him the said Capt. Daniell Gookin 
by and for the transportation of twentie eight persons into this colony 
whose names are in the record mentioned under this pattent. 

"To Have and to Hold," etc., "Yielding and paying" etc., "which 
payment is to be made seaven Yeares after the date of these p''sents and 
not before," etc., "Provided alwaies that the said Capt. Daniell Gookin 
his heirs or assigns doe not plant or seat or cause to bee seated on the 
said ffourteen hundred acres of land w"" in the terme of three yeares next 
ensuing after admittance cultivation" grant to be void. " Given by a Grand 
Assembly for the seating of Rappahannock River aforesaid, "etc., dated 
the fouerth of November 1642." 



THE NANSEMOND PETITION e^ 

The names of the twenty-eight persons are recorded with 

this instrument: 

William Wildly Christ. Vaughan 

Jon. Morgan fferdinand Heath 

Margarett Davis Tho" Beede 

William Paine Roger Wilcox 

Eliza: Brooke Thos. Ringall 

Robert Mason Rich. Browne 

Marsoy Lanmore Robert Bernard 

William Webb James Perkins 

J"" Addison Tho. Perkins 
(Daniel Gookin) himself 2 several times into this 

Colony. 

Mrs. Mary Gookin Sam" Gookin 

Thomas Warren William Shepperd 

Edward Cooke Mary Codne 

John Bright Jacob, a negroe 

There can be little doubt that most of these were indented 
servants brought over by Daniel to assist in the cultivation of 
the Nansemond plantation. The negro, whose full name was 
Jacob Warrow, was a slave. He was owned by Daniel until 
1655, when he was murdered by the Indians. ^ 

Among his neighbors in the Upper Norfolk country, Dan- 
iel found to his great delight that there were a considerable 
number of Puritan families. They had, in all probability, a 
rude chapel in the forest, wherein, as was customary in those 
days in settlements without a minister, a Bible and a few valu- 
able religious books were fastened to a desk, for the devout to 
open and read. Services of some sort were held on the Lord's 
Day, but the lack of the preaching which was both the chief 
solace and intellectual diversion of the early Puritans, was 
keenly felt. Accordingly on May 24, 1642, Richard Bennett, 
Daniel Gookin, John Hull and seventy-one others, addressed 
a letter to the elders of the church in the colony of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, ''bewailing their sad condition for want of the 
means of salvation and earnestly entreating a supply of faithful 
ministers, whom, upon experience of their gifts and godliness 
they might call to office." 2 

^See infra, p. 76. 

* Winthrop's Hist, of New Eng., ed. by James Savage, ii, 93. 



68 VISIT OF PURITAN PREACHERS 

This letter, now known as the "Nansemond petition," Ben- 
nett carried to Boston, where he arrived upon a small coasting 
vessel, early in September. The petition having been read 
to the people "upon a lecture day, the elders met," says 
Winthrop, "and set a day apart to seek God in it, and agreed 
upon three who might most likely be spared." Two of these 
declined to go and the choice finally rested upon Rev. William 
Tompson of Braintree, an Oxford graduate and a preacher 
of distinction, and Rev. John Knowles, a ripe scholar from 
Emanuel College, who had been the pastor at Watertown. 
With the consent of their churches, Tompson and Knowles 
left on October 7 for Taunton, where a pinnace awaited 
them, and a few days later they were joined by Rev. Thomas 
James of New Haven, who had for ten years been a faithful 
preacher at Charlestown. Eleven weeks were consumed in 
the voyage to Virginia. At Hell Gate their small craft was 
wrecked and they narrowly escaped with their lives. Another 
vessel having been procured at Manhattan, despite the cold 
reception accorded them by the Dutch Governor, "they set 
sail in the dead of winter, and had much foul weather, so as 
with great difficulty and danger they arrived safe in Virginia." 
"Here," says Winthrop, "they found very loving and liberal 
entertainment, and were bestowed in several places, not by 
the governour, but by some well disposed people who desired 
their company."^ 

Among these well disposed persons Daniel Gookin was 
easily the most prominent, and no stretch of the imagination is 
required to see him welcoming the ministers with open hands. 
By Governor Berkeley, a zealous and bigoted adherent to the 
Church of England, though they brought letters to him from 
Governor Winthrop, their reception was frigid in the extreme. 
He told them bluntly that their presence was not desired, 
and as they persisted, nevertheless, in striving to spread their 
obnoxious doctrine, he lost no time in taking steps to repel the 
invasion. At the next meeting of the Assembly, in March, 
1642/3, the following act was passed: "For the preservation 

*Hist. New Eng., ii, 115. 



THE ACT OF CONFORMITY 69 

of the puritie of doctrine & unitie of the church, It is enacted 
that all ministers whatsoever which shall reside in the collony 
are to be conformable to the orders and constitutions of the 
church of England, and the laws therein established, and not 
otherwise to be admitted to teach or preach publickly or 
privatly. And that the Gov. and Counsel do take care that 
all nonconformists upon notice of them shall be compelled to 
depart the collony with all convenencie."' 

After the enactment of this statute the Governor was not 
long in getting rid of Knowles and James, w^ho left for New 
England in April. Knowles arrived in Boston in June, bearing 
letters telling of the work of the three missionaries, "whereby 
it appeared that God had greatly blessed their ministry there, 
so as the people's hearts were much inflamed with desire after 
the ordinances, and though the state did silence the ministers, 
because they would not conform to the order of England, yet 
the people resorted to them in private houses to hear them as 
before." 2 

While there is no positive evidence that Tompson made 
Daniel Gookin's house his headquarters, yet it is more than 
likely that such was the case. Certain it is that they were 
closely associated at this time ; so much, at least, we learn from 
the testimony of Cotton Mather's oft quoted, and misquoted, 
doggerel : 

Hearers, like doves, flocked with contentious wing, 
Who should be first, feed most, most homeward bring, 
Laden with honey, like Hyblaean bees, 
They knead it into combs upon their knees. 

A constellation of great converts there, 

Shone round him, and his heavenly glory were. 

GOOKINS was one of these; by Thompson's pains, 

Christ and New England a dear Gookins gains.^ 

It is easy to infer too much from this utterance, written 
fifty-five years after the occurrences described, and eleven years 

'Henning's Statutes at Large, i, 277. 

^Winthrop, ii, 116. 

' Magnalia Christi Americana, i, 440. 



70 AN UNWARRANTED STATEMENT 

after Daniel Gookin's death, and not to make sufficient allow- 
ance for the exigencies of metrical composition. The assertion 
of John Fiske that Daniel was a "brand snatched from the 
burning," a "wayward son . . . whose conversion was from 
worldliness or perhaps devilry rather than from prelacy," is 
nothing else than gratuitous assumption. ^ 

Unquestionably it was Tompson's influence that induced 
Daniel to remove to Massachusetts. To the same source also 
we may with safety attribute a strengthening of his belief in 
the doctrines of the Puritans and the fanning of his religious 
ardor into a more active flame; but, as he was one of the fore- 
most signers of the Nansemond petition^ it is equally certain 
that he was already a convert before Tompson set foot on 
Virginia soil. 

After the passage of the act of conformity, Virginia was no 
longer an agreeable place for Daniel Gookin to live, and he 
soon began to plan for removal. Accompanied by Tompson 
and others, Daniel first emigrated, in the summer of 1643, to 
the neighboring colony of Maryland, where he acquired land 
in the vicinity of South and Severn Rivers, near the site of 
Annapolis.2 Though Lord Baltimore and Governor Calvert 
were Papists, the newcomers were not looked upon by them 
as intruders, but were welcomed as most desirable, and Tomp- 
son labored on in the colony until the latter part of 1648, 

'Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, i, 304. 

Professor Fiske appears to have derived his "inspiration" from "A Puritan 
Colony in Maryland," by Daniel R. Randall, printed in "Johns Hopkins Univ. Stud- 
ies," 4th Ser., No. 6, p. 10. It would be difficult to cite a better illustration of the 
danger of drawing upon the imagination for one's facts than is furnished by the 
following extract: "But still Thompson labored on among his many converts. Of 
these, Daniel Godkin or Gookin the wayward son of a good old Puritan of that name, 
was the most incorrigible. However, the Rev. Thompson's public teaching and 
private expostulation converted him so completely from his evil ways that the good 
people were a little skeptical of his sincerity, and Daniel left the home of his fathers, 
changed his name to Gookin, and went to Boston, there to signalize himself by his 
good works. Mather celebrated Thompson'swork and particularly this wonderful 
conversion by writing thereon a poem, of which I quote a stanza: 

A constellation of great converts there 
Shone round him, and his heavenly glory wear; 
Godkin was one of them; by Thompson's pains 
Christ and New England a dear Godkin gains." 
Thus too often is so-called history written. 

^ Terra Marias, by Edward D. Neill, p. 79. 



REMOVAL TO NEW ENGLAND 71 

"winning golden opinions by his quiet, conservative, and Chris- 
tian course. "1 

Notwithstanding the welcome accorded him and the toler- 
ation displayed by Governor Calvert in protecting all settlers 
in their conscientious scruples, a short stay convinced Daniel 
that Maryland, under Papist rule, was not the place for him. 
Moreover Massachusetts held out the powerful attraction of 
life in a Puritan community, where he would be surrounded 
by others holding like views with himself, and thither, "having 
his affection strongly set on the truths of Christ and his pure 
Ordinances," 2 he made up his mind to go. The sudden death 
of his brother John, at Lynn Haven early in November, 1643, 
by breaking the strongest tie that bound him to Virginia, made 
this decision all the easier. So, about the beginning of May, 
1644, leaving his three plantations in the charge of servants, 
with his wife and infant daughter ^ he set sail for Boston. 
While they were engaged in their preparations for leaving, 
Virginia was plunged into desolation by the great Indian Mas- 
sacre of April 18, when so many of the colonists lost their 
lives. The news of this disaster Daniel was the first to carry 
to New England. 

^ Terra Marias, p. 8i. 

^Johnson's Wonder-Working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England, 
p. 109. 

^ Samuel, his first-born, had died before this time. 




CHAPTER VII 




HE ship that bore Daniel Gookin and his fam- 
ily to New England arrived at Boston May 20, 
1644. Only with difficulty, and bearing in mind 
the absorption of the seventeenth century men 
in their religious views, can we, in these days of 
universal toleration and faiths lightly held, con- 
ceive the joy that Daniel must have felt when he 
found himself breathing the air of a community where the 
Puritan Church and the civil state had been "planted and 
growne up (like t\vo tvvinnes) together like that of Israel in 
the wilderness. "1 His reception could not well have been 
more cordial. On May 26, six days after his landing, he was 
admitted to the First Church in Boston, and on May 29, only 
three days later, he was made a freeman. It was very uncom- 
mon for one to be allowed to take his oath so soon after 
arriving within the jurisdiction, and the unusual honours plainly 
evince that Daniel's reputation had preceded him. Without 
doubt it was his kindness to the missionaries in Virginia and 
their reports of his zeal and piety that gained him this distinc- 
tion. He was now in his thirty-second year, tall in stature and 
robust in physique; in bearing grave and dignified. Though 
a Puritan of the Puritans, stern and uncompromising in mat- 
ters of religion, the dominating notes in his character were his 
tenderness of heart and compassion, and his abiding sense of 



^"The Book Of General Lauues And Libertyes Concerning The Inhabitants 
Of The Massachusets. " Cambridge, 1648. 



FRIENDSHIP WITH JOHN ELIOT 73 

justice. To such a nature selfish striving for his own advance- 
ment was impossible. No man could be more tenacious of 
his rights, or could more stoutly uphold them when called in 
question. But what he insisted upon for himself, he freely 
accorded to others, — even to the despised red men, for whose 
advancement he laboured so unceasingly to the end of his days. 
The records of the First Church in Boston, of which Rev. 
John Cotton was the pastor, show that "Mrs. Mary Gookin, 
o'' brother Captaine Gookin's wife "was admitted as a member 
on October 12, 1644. With this church Daniel and Mary 
continued their affiliation until their removal to Cambridge, 
nearly four years later. During most, if not all of the inter- 
vening time, their residence was in Roxbury, where they were 
near neighbors of Rev. John Eliot, the famous pastor of the 
First Church of that town, justly renowned as the "Apostle" 
to the Indians of New England, It is not improbable that 
Eliot may have influenced Daniel in selecting Roxbury as his 
place of abode. However that may be, a close friendship 
soon grew up between them which continued unbroken to the 
end of Daniel's life, and was cemented by many years of 
labour together in the service of the Lord. They were not 
far apart in age, Eliot being only eight years the elder, and 
they had much in common besides their adhesion to the same 
religious tenets. Both were men of broad views, in many ways 
open-minded for their day and generation; both were simple 
in their lives and of the serene temper that conquers many 
difficulties; both had the rare gift of sympathy combined with 
calmness of judgement. Austere and intolerant in matters of 
doctrine they undoubtedly were, but in that they were only the 
product of their age. Toleration, as then conceived, was a sin 
of the first magnitude. It is the child of doubt, and in the sev- 
enteenth century few men had any doubt whatever that they 
were right in their religious beliefs, and that those who differed 
from them were as certainly wrong. The prevailing view was 
well formulated by Nathaniel Ward. "Every toleration of false 
religions or opinions," he wrote, "hath as many errors and sins 
in it as all the false religions and opinions it tolerates."^ Reli- 

^ Simple Cobler of Agawam, p. 8. 



74 THE NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY 

gious persecution was the natural sequence. The men of New 
England did not mean to be cruel and uncharitable, but in their 
eyes the dissemination of unsound doctrine was monstrous 
iniquity, destructive alike to the souls of men and to the king- 
dom of God upon earth. And so, while they recognized the 
impossibility of coercing belief, they nevertheless felt it their 
bounden duty to inflict dreadful penalties upon the unor- 
thodox. 

The New England of Eliot and Gookin was essentially a 
theocracy. Religion filled men's thoughts and was regarded 
as the only real concern in life. Church and state were not 
merely linked together; they were one and the same, for the 
Church was the State. Citizenship was conferred upon those 
only who had received baptism and the Lord's supper. The 
ministers were the most influential men in the colony, the most 
respected and beloved. The esteem in which they were held 
was well deserved. They were, indeed, a singularly able and 
learned body of men, who strove with all their might to exem- 
plify in their lives the purifying effect of the doctrines they 
preached. Such men as John Cotton, Thomas Shepard, John 
Eliot, Thomas Hooker, Nathaniel Ward, Richard Mather, 
Roger Williams, Davenport, Chauncey, Norton, Dunster, — 
scholars all, and many of them graduates of Cambridge and 
Oxford, — would have been notable in any environment. To 
the members of their flocks their interminable prayers and 
long-drawn-out sermons afi^orded not merely spiritual sol- 
ace and refreshment; they were a source of keen intellectual 
pleasure as well, and to a large extent filled the place that 
in modern life is occupied by secular entertainments. "Mr. 
Torrey stood up and prayed near two hours, but the time 
obliged him to close, to our regret," wrote a Harvard grad- 
uate,^ "and we could have gladly heard him an hour longer." 
Learning was held in high esteem. Not only the clergy, but 
many of the leaders among the laity, as the elder and younger 
Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, Simon Bradstreet, William Brew- 
ster, William Bradford, John Pynchon, John Haynes, and 

' Quoted by J. L. Sibley, Harv. Grad., 566. 



RESIDENCE IN ROXBURY 75 

Daniel Gookin, were men of education. "Probably no other 
community of pioneers ever so honoured study, so reverenced 
the symbols and instruments of learning. Theirs was a social 
structure with its corner-stone resting on a book.''^ Work 
and food were plentiful, luxuries were few; plain living and 
high thinking came nearer being the standard than, perhaps, 
they have ever been elsewhere. 

Little is known about Daniel's occupations during the three 
or more years of his residence in Roxbury. He was one of 
the founders of the free grammar school established in the 
summer or autumn of 1645.2 Drake says he was a deputy 
from Roxbury to the General Court.^ If so, the records of 
the Court fail to show that he attended any of the sessions 
of that body. This, perhaps, is accounted for by absence in 
Maryland or Virginia. The business of his plantations in the 
southern colonies appears to have occupied his attention for 
some time after his removal to Massachusetts, and to have 
occasioned at least one voyage to the river James. In a letter 
from the elder Winthrop to his son, dated Boston, May 14, 
1647, he says: 

"Here came in this morning a ship from Virginia with 
captain Gookin and some others. She was bought by him [of] 
the governour there. She came out ten days since, and we 
hear by her, that Mr. Whiting's pinnace is safe there, and 
another of Connecticut."* 

Not unlikely the voyage to Virginia was for the purpose 
of trade, and on the return trip he may have carried to Boston 
the corn and tobacco grown upon his plantations. On April 6 
of the next year, 1648, he sold five hundred acres of the planta- 
tion on the Rappahannock River to Captain Thomas Burbage. 
How long he continued to own and cultivate the remaining 
nine hundred acres and the larger plantation on the Nanse- 
mond has not been ascertained. The Maryland plantation 
was still in his possession in 1655, when Jacob Warrow and 

'Moses Coit Tyler, Hist, of Am. Literature, i, 99. 

* Ellis, Hist, of Roxbury Town, p. 37. 

^F. S. Drake, The Town of Roxbury, Its Memorable Persons and Places, p. 190. 

* Savage's Winthrop, ii, 432. 



-^e THE SOUTH RIVER PLANTATION 

another of his negro servants were murdered by two Indians, 
who were afterward apprehended and brought to justice. At 
the trial, "Mary, the servant who had escaped, notwithstand- 
ing the severity of her wound, was the chief witness. But 
Warcosse, the Emperor, had sent down to St. Mary's some 
articles found in possession of the suspected Indians, and 
which it was known had belonged to Captain Gookins. And 
the Indians, who spoke through interpreters, confessed at the 
trial they were present at the murder — at one moment admit- 
ting, at the next denying, their guilt, 'fearful and desiring' says 
the record, 'to conceal it.' They were convicted, sentenced, 
and executed on the same day.''^ 

One other mention of Captain Gookin in connection with 
the South River plantation is found in contemporary records. 
When, in March, 1654/5, William Stone, who had resigned as 
Governor of Maryland under Lord Baltimore the preceding 
July, organized an armed force against the existing authorities 
and arrived off the mouth of the river Severn with two hun- 
dred men in twelve boats, he chased a small New England 
trading vessel belonging to Captain Gookin, which was in 
charge of Captain John Cutts, and fired several shots at her.^ 

On May 29 of this year, 1655, a suit "betweene Elias Park- 
man, plaintiffe, & Capt. Dann. Gookin defendant, in reference 
to the said Parkman's voyage to Virginia," was decided by the 
General Court of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The rec- 
ord says: "The Court, on hearing of the case and all parties 
concerned therein, doe judge that although there were five 
persons, old & young, shipt aboard the said Parkman by the 
defendent, yett, in regard two of them were very young he shall 
be allowed for transporting three persons and a halfe only the 
some of seven pounds, and for a parcell of goods which he car- 
ried twenty shillings ; of w^*" fower pounds tenn shillings is found 
paid in a parcell of tobacco; but nothing due to the plaint^ for 
the fower thousand of bread w^'' was shipt on another vessell; 
so that the Court finds for the plaintiff three pounds tenn shil- 
lings, and two pounds five shillings and eight pence costs." 

1 George Lynn Lachlan Davis, in "The Day Star of Freedom," Baltimore, 1858. 
*E. D. Neill, Terra Marias, 123. 



AN INEFFICIENT FOREMAN 77 

Fifteen years later Daniel was still interested in the coast- 
ing trade. The town of Cambridge, on November 14, 1670, 
"Granted to the owners of the Ketches that are to [be] 
builded in the town liberty to fell timber upon the common 
for the building of the said Ketches." The owners were 
Daniel Gookin, Walter Hastings, and Samuel Champney. In 
April, 1672, they recovered ten pounds damage and costs of 
court, against William Carr, for unworkmanlike conduct in 
building the vessels, which, as appears from the County Court 
Records, were of thirty-five and twenty-eight tons. Small as 
they seem to us nowadays, it appears from Randolph's nar- 
rative that more than two-thirds of all the vessels owned in 
the colony in 1676 ranged in size from six to fifty tons. A 
curious deposition relating to Carr's delinquency is in posses- 
sion of the compiler of this history. It is in the handwriting 
of Captain Gookin. 

David Fiske Aged about 49: yeares beeing sworen saith that bee 
wrought w**" William Carr upon the vessells built by him in Cambridge 
about 4 months in the winter 1670 & I Do say & Affirme y' William 
Carr master of the worke Did not follow his worke diligently him selfe 
nor improue & imploy the hands y* wrought w*** him w''*' was not less 
than six or seauen som times; and in particuler when hee had sett out a 
peece of worke to hew or fitt hee would Repaire under the shed & sitt & 
smoke & when y'' worke was done the workmen were faine to goe & call 
him to sett out more worke; & the whilst hee did it they were faine to 
stand still w"'' was an occasion of loss of much time, wheras hee might 
easily have prepared worke ready against the other was done also I do 
further Afirme y*^ hee the said Carr did seldome while I was their Do an 
hours worke or two in a day w"" his owne hands. And also I do say y* 
I saw him order the cutting of the best oake planks in the yard for Rib- 
ben. Further hee saith not. 

Taken upon oath this i: of Aprill 
1672 before me 

Daniel Gookin 

Thomas Longhome aged about 51 saith that w"*" is aboue written is Truth 
& further hee adds y* hee being sawier in the yard from first to Last doth 
Judge that the owners Are damnified about 10: pounds in Respect of 
the timber sawed & gotten for the vessells that lies there part of it in the 
yards unused. 




CHAPTER VIII 




HE General Court, on March 7, 1643/4, con- 
firmed to the town of Cambridge a conditional 
grant, made nearly three years earlier, of "all the 
land lying upon Savveshin Ryver, and between 
that and Concord Ryver, and between that and 
Merrimack Ryver," not previously granted by 
the Court. This territory, then designated as 
Shawshine, included the present town of Billerica, parts of 
Bedford and Carlisle, and a part of Tewksbury, or of Chelms- 
ford, or both. No general division of the land was made 
before 1652, but a number of grants were made to individ- 
uals. The earliest of these was on April 9, 1648, when, at a 
general meeting the whole town, having had "special warn- 
ing to meet for the disposing of Shawshine," one thousand 
acres were set aside "for the good of the church," and "also 
there was granted to several brethren that had no house-rights 
in the town, if they did desire it," farms at Shawshine: — 
"Imprimis, Capt. Googine a farm, if he buy a house in 
the town." 

If this were intended to help a wavering decision it seems 
to have accomplished its purpose. A house was bought from 
Edward Collins. It stood on the easterly side of Crooked 
street (now Holyoke street) about a hundred feet south of 
Braintree street (now Harvard street), on the site now occu- 
pied by the club house of the Hasty Pudding Club. The 
removal from Roxbury may have antedated the promise of 

78 




Tomb of Daniel Gookin, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. 



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REMOVAL TO CAMBRIDGE 79 

the farm.i More probably it took place toward the end of 
the summer. The records of the First Church in Boston 
contain this entry: "The 3^^ Day of y 7th Month 1648, our 
brother Captaine Gookin and o'' Sister Mrs. Mary Gookin 
his wife, were according to their owne Desires w*** y« Consent 
of y^ Church by their silence dismissed to y« church at Cam- 
bridge and to haveTres accordingly." Daniel had now reached 
the age of thirty-six. At the time of his removal to Cam- 
bridge his family consisted of his wife and his daughters, 
Mary aged about six, and Elizabeth aged two. A third daugh- 
ter, born in Roxbury the preceding year, had lived not quite 
three months. 

The farm at Shawshine was granted in April, 1649, when 
at a town meeting it was agreed "that Mr. Henry Dun- 
ster, President of Harvard College, should have 500 acres, 
whereof 400 is granted by the town to his own person and 
heirs, to enjoy freely forever, and the other 100 acres for the 
use of Harvard College. Item, unto Mr. Daniell Googine 500 
acres." 

When Daniel became a resident of Cambridge the train- 
band was in charge of the ensign, John Stedman. In 1645 ^^^ 
Captain, George Cooke, had returned to England to take serv- 
ice on the side of the Parliament in the great civil war, and 
the General Court had deputed his brother Joseph "to take 
care of the company" during his absence, but had relieved 
him from this duty in November, 1647. The date of Daniel 
Gookin's appointment does not appear upon the records, but 
he was probably made Captain soon after he removed to the 
town. This command he held for nearly forty years, being, 
as Captain Edward Johnson said of him, "a very forward 
man to advance Marshal discipline, and withal the truths of 
Christ." 2 The.ractice pthen prevailed for a Captain to retain 
command of his company, however highly promoted, so long 
as he remained in office, the immediate command being exer- 
cised by the Lieutenant. Thus, while in later years Daniel 
was made Serjeant-Major and afterward Major-General, he 

'This is the view held by Paige, Hist. Cambridge, p. 398, note. 
* Wonder Working Providence, Ed. Poole, 192. 



8o CAMBRIDGE NEIGHBORS 

was still Captain of the Cambridge Company and seems to 
have been rather indiscriminately addressed as such, even after 
he had attained the higher rank. 

Easily the most distinguished resident of Cambridge, when 
Daniel Gookin went there to live, was the minister, Rev. 
Thomas Shepard, one of the most eminent of the New Eng- 
land clergy, and a man renowned not only for his learning and 
his skill as a preacher but for his clear judgement, sagacity and 
foresight. His house on Braintree street was but a short 
distance from Daniel's, and the two men formed a close friend- 
ship which, however, was soon cut short by Shepard's sudden 
death, in August, 1649. This event caused general lamen- 
tation and gloom throughout the colony, but was particularly 
felt by the members of his congregation, and by none more 
keenly, it may safely be said, than by his friend and neigh- 
bor Daniel Gookin. ^ Others of Daniel's especial friends in 
those early days were Deacon Richard Champney, the thrifty 
Ruling Elder of the Cambridge Church, who lived almost 
directly opposite him on Holyoke street, and Edmund Frost, 
the other Ruling Elder, of pious memory, but not gifted 
with the worldly wisdom of his associate. Besides these there 
were Edward Collins, Edward Jackson and his brothers John 
and Richard, Edward GofTe, and Edmund Angier, all men of 
substance and weight in the town. But the closest and most 
enduring friendship was that formed with Thomas Danforth, 
the brilliant and forceful young man of t\venty-six, who, when 
Daniel settled in Cambridge, had already been for three years 
Selectman and Town Clerk, — offices which he held for many 
years until the duties of the higher positions to which he 
was called made it necessary to relieve him of the burden of 
these. This friendship lasted and grew closer and stronger 
as long as Daniel lived. It was founded on a community of 
ideas that held the two men firmly together in time of stress 
when they worked courageously side by side breasting pop- 
ular clamour until in the end they overcame it and finally 
turned the tide in their favour. 

'Shepard's son, Thomas, afterward the minister at Charlestown, who was a lad of 
fourteen when his father died, chose Daniel Gookin as his guardian. 



A VISIT TO ENGLAND 8i 

In the spring of 1649 Daniel was chosen as Deputy from 
Cambridge to the General Court, held in Boston May 2, and 
on the 4th he and Captain Prichard were appointed a commit- 
tee "to draw up lawyes for womens dowryes." That he was 
not re-elected the following year is attributable to his having 
been called to England. The records of the General Court 
show that on May 23, and again on May 30, 1650, "Daniel 
Gookin, Edward Collins, with the rest of the overseers & ex" 
of the est. of M' Tho« Sheppard," presented a petition to sell 
lands. Daniel, however, had probably set sail before this time. 
He was in London in July, for on July 24 the Council of State 
at Westminster ordered the issuance of "a warrant to Daniel 
Gookin to export to New England 30 barrels of powder, 10 
tons of shot and lead, and fifty arms for the use of the planta- 
tion."^ This seems to indicate that the voyage to the mother 
country was undertaken, in part at least, upon the public serv- 
ice. Though the king had been brought to the block the 
year before, and Cromwell had "pacified" Ireland with fire and 
sword, and a temporary calm in Scotland had been brought 
about by the capture and execution of Montrose, and in Eng- 
land the Puritans were clearly in the ascendant, it was still 
a distracted country at the time of Daniel's visit. Having 
accomplished the business that took him thither, or, it may be, 
finding that little could be done under existing conditions, and 
having, it may be assumed, paid visits to some of his cous- 
ins, whom he had not seen for nine years, ^ he took the earliest 
opportunity of returning to his family. That he had been 
loath to leave them may well be imagined, for his son Daniel 
was born during his absence. 

In the spring of 165 1 Captain Gookin and Mr. Edward 
Jackson were returned as Deputies from Cambridge to the 

*Br. Rec. Office Interregnum Entry Book, xxxvi, 13. 

^ These cousins were the only relatives he then had left. Samuel Gookin, son 
of his uncle John, was in London. Thomas Gookin, son of his uncle Thomas, lived 
in Harbledown near Canterbury ; John, his elder brother, the lord of the manor of 
Ripple Court, was a royalist, and probably living in Paris. Vincent Gookin, son of 
his uncle Vincent, was in Ireland, occupied with official duties, having been appointed 
by Cromwell one of the Commissioners of the Revenue. His brother. Captain 
Robert, and the younger children of Sir Vincent were also in Ireland. Besides these 
some of the daughters of Thomas may have still been living. 



82 ELECTED ASSISTANT 

General Court. When the Court met, on May 7, Daniel was 
chosen Speaker. The same day he was named as one of 
a committee of ten, headed by Simon Bradstreet, "to con- 
sider the offences on doctrinal points by Mr. Marmaduke 
Mathewes, hearing to be June 11 next at the Shipp in Bos- 
ton." On the 22d of the month he was appointed one of a 
committee to draw up instructions for the Commissioners of 
the United Colonies; and on the 26th he was placed on a 
committee ''to draw the case against Mr. Richard Leader, 
accused of reproaching and slandering the Court." In 1651 
he was also chosen Associate for the County Court, held at 
Cambridge. 

At the election held May 26, 1652, Daniel was chosen an 
Assistant, or one of the Council of eighteen magistrates to 
whom, with the Governor and the Deputy Governor, the gov- 
ernment of the colony was entrusted. To this office he was 
re-elected continuously for a period of thirty-five years, save 
only in 1676 when he suffered defeat because the populace, 
maddened by the Indian war then raging, misconstrued his 
noble care of the friendly Indians and included him with 
them in their unreasoning indignation. The functions of the 
Assistants were not merely executive. They acted also as 
judges, being assigned from time to time to hold court in 
various places within the jurisdiction. Says Cotton Mather: 
*'The freemen of New England had a great variety of worthy 
men among whom they might chuse a number of Magistrates 
to be the assistants of their Governours, both in directing the 
general affairs of the land, and in dispensing of justice unto 
the people."^ Having mentioned a number of them, and 
among them Daniel Gookin, he goes on to say, "that these 
names are proper and worthy to be found in our Church- 
History will be acknowledged when it is considered, not only 
that they were the members of Congregational churches, and 
by the members of the churches chosen to be the rulers of 
the Commonwealth; and that their exemplary behaviour in 
their magistracy was generally such as to 'adorn the doctrine 

^Magnalia, i, 141. 



CATECHIZES PRAYING INDIAN 83 

of God our Saviour,' and, according to the old Jewish wishes 
(tr. It is forbidden to man to rule like a prince over people, 
and with a proud spirit; he should exercise authority in meek- 
ness and fear) but also that their love to, and zeal for and care 
of these churches was not the least part of their character." 

Few details about Captain Gookin's life during the year 
1652 have come down to us. His son Samuel was born in 
April, bringing the number of his living children up to four. 
From a curious tract, printed in London in that year, entitled 
"Strength out of Weaknesse; or a Glorious Manifestation," it 
appears that before this date Daniel had entered upon the 
work of assisting John Eliot in his efforts to Christianize the 
Indians. In this tract is printed "a private passage from one 
in New England to his godly Friend here, who was so much 
affected therewith, as he found out our Treasurer of the Cor- 
poration, by name Mr. Richard Floyd at the Meremaide in 
Cheapside, and desired it might be published to the world." 
Having related questions asked of a Praying Indian, the nar- 
rative proceeds: 

By this time Captaine Gooking came to us, and he asked him this 
Question : 

Q. What he would thinke if he should finde more affliction and 
trouble in God's wayes, then he did in the way of Indianisme. 

A. His answer was, when the Lord did first turne me to himselfe 
and his wayes, he stripped mee as bare as my skinne, and if the Lord should 
strip mee as bare as my skinne againe, and so big Saggamore should come to 
mee, and say, I will give you so big Wampum, so big Beaver, and leave 
this way, and turne to us againe: I would say, take your riches to your 
selfe, i would never forsake God and his wayes againe. 

This is a relation taken by myselfe, 

William French^ 

For some reason, not explained in the record, Daniel did 
not attend the session of the General Court on May 18, 1653, 
when he was for the second time chosen Assistant. His 
absence may have been due to indisposition, but whatever the 
cause it was of short duration, for on June 2 he was placed on 
a committee to consider a petition by the inhabitants of Ded- 

*The tract in which this appears is reprinted in Mass. Hist. Soc. Colls., Ser. 3, 
Vol. iv. 



84 SERVICE ON COMMITTEES 

ham. Later in the year he was one of those appointed to 
examine the state of Harvard College. He was also on a 
committee which considered a remonstrance made by twenty- 
nine of the men of Woburn, who wished to be allowed to 
have a minister who would preach certain doctrines that had 
become ruling views with them, and which afterward caused 
them to remove to Rhode Island. 



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CHAPTER IX 




APTAIN GOOKIN was for the third time 
elected Assistant on May 3, 1654, and was pres- 
ent at the meeting of the Court held that day. 
Thereafter we lose track of his movements for 
more than a year. The probability is that dur- 
ing the summer or autumn he sailed for Eng- 
land, whither he was called by personal business, 
which apparently was an effort to secure the property left by 
his elder brother Edward Gookin, of whose estate he was on 
July 3, 1655, appointed administrator. It was necessary in 
those days to take passage when and as opportunity offered 
and it may be that Daniel had to leave home before the birth 
of his son Solomon, who came into the world on June 20, but 
lived less than a month, dying on July 16. Whether his depart- 
ure was shortly before, or not long after these events, we may 
be sure that he went away reluctantly and with an anxious 
heart, but sustained by his abiding faith that his dear ones 
were in the hands of the ever-living God. He had reason, 
too, to feel that he could rely upon the prudence and judge- 
ment of his wife Mary, and that good friends and neighbors 
would be ready to look after her and the children in case of 
need. 

The interval since Daniel's last visit to London had wit- 
nessed many changes. Cromwell had been proclaimed Pro- 
tector, and now, for the first time in fourteen years, an election 
had been held, and the first Protectorate Parliament was in 

85 



86 CROMWELL'S JAMAICA PROJECT 

session. Among its members was Daniel's cousin, Vincent 
Gookin, who, like himself, was a man of high aims and unswerv- 
ing devotion to the path of duty. Vincent was then in the 
midst of his struggle in opposition to the Irish transplanting. 
His pamphlet, "The Great Case of Transplantation in Ireland 
discussed," was published on January 3, 1655, and in the storm 
which it awakened Daniel had an opportunity of observing 
how much moral courage is required to withstand popular 
clamour, little thinking that he would himself have to undergo 
a similar experience twenty years later. 

The mind of Cromwell, at this period, was much occupied 
with his resolution to extend the power of England beyond 
the seas, and at the same time, by striking a blow at the 
dominion of Antichrist, to further the welfare of "the people 
of God," whom he held it his special mission to protect. At 
Christmastide he had dispatched Admiral Penn and General 
Venables on their ill-starred expedition to wrest the West 
Indies from the grasp of Spain. Failing miserably in their 
attack upon San Domingo, they turned their attention to 
Jamaica. There they were more successful, the Spanish gar- 
rison being too small to make a stand against even such a 
force as the tattered remnants of Venables' army. A landing 
was made at Kingston on May 10, 1655, and the island became 
an English possession. 

The news of this conquest reached Cromwell on August 
4, in a letter from Venables. Details were soon forthcom- 
ing. Penn arrived at Plymouth on September i, and was fol- 
lowed on the loth by his associate whom he had supposed 
to be mortally ill when he left for home. The expedition was 
a bitter disappointment to the Protector. The acquisition of 
Jamaica afforded small consolation for the failure to gain such 
a foothold in the West Indies as would dominate the trade- 
route of the Spanish treasure ships. Still, as the island had been 
taken he determined to hold it. The English garrison, a dis- 
organized and cowardly mob, deserted by their commander, 
could not be relied upon, even with the aid of the reinforce- 
ments under Major Sedgwick which had been dispatched as 
early as June 11, when the news of the Hispaniola disaster 



DANIEL GOOKIN'S COMMISSION 87 

had not yet reached England. The need was for planters, 
not discontented military colonists. In the efforts made to 
secure these no time was lost. Requests were sent to those 
in authority in Scotland and Ireland to aid by sending out 
young persons of both sexes, — a futile proceeding, as it for- 
tunately turned out. It was in New England that Cromwell 
thought he saw the most immediate source of supply. Would 
not many of the settlers in the rugged land of the North 
eagerly embrace the opportunity to found a new Puritan 
colony in a sunnier clime? Would not the husbandmen of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut be attracted by the more 
productive soil? Would not the change be for their interest, 
as well as for that of the mother country? Daniel Gookin, 
then, as it seemed, providentially in England, was sent for. 
Though he told Cromwell plainly that he did not share his 
views and was dubious as to the outcome, he was neverthe- 
less commissioned to urge the people of New England to 
transfer themselves to Jamaica. In furtherance of this mis- 
sion he was ordered to take passage for Boston on a vessel 
then about to sail. 

It would be interesting to know in what way Cromwell 
became acquainted with Daniel. His acquaintance with Vin- 
cent Gookin was intimate and of long standing, and it may be 
that Daniel was known to him prior to this visit to England. 
If the introduction was made by Vincent, it must have taken 
place some months before the colonization of Jamaica was 
thought of, for he left London for Ireland early in July and, 
being detained en route, was in Milford Haven during August 
and half of September, not reaching Dublin until toward the 
end of the month. 

At a meeting of the Council of State, on September 21, 
1655, the committee for Jamaica was ordered to confer with 
Captain Gookin and the Treasurer was authorized to advance 
^300 to defray his expenses. At another meeting, held on the 
26th, Cromwell presiding, the following "Instructions Given 
to M' Daniell Gookin being reported from y« Com*«=^ of the 
Counsell to whom the business of Jamaica was referred were 
this day read and approved and ordered to be offered to 



88 CROMWELL'S INSTRUCTIONS 

his Highness as y« advice of the Counsell w^ are in hoc 
verba." 

Instructions given unto M' Daniell Gookin. 

I. You shall upon the receipt of these Instructions repaire aboard 
the Ketch the Fraternitie bound for New England in which you are by 
the blessing of God to take your passage thither where being arrived 

II. You shall apply your selfe to the Govern*"' Magistrates and Gen- 
erall Courts of the English Colonyes or to such Churches Townes or 
Persons of the English their as you shall find to be for the advantage of 
the present service, and acquaint them That it hath pleased God to put 
the Island of Jamaica in America into the hands and possession of this 
State. The army sent from hence into those parts in December 1654 
having landed at the Towne called Jago De la beiga the tenth of May and 
that wee are assured as well by severall Letters from thence Dated the 
25"" of July last as by Generall Venables and Generall Penn the first 
whereof came from thence the 25"" day of July and the latter the 25"" day 
of June That our fForces are in the full possession thereof The people 
who were found upon that place [the number whereof were about 1400] 
being f^ed to the hills with an intention to get over to some other parts 
of the King of Spaynes Dominions Save that some of the Negroes Por- 
tugueses and others doe daily submitt themselves to our Comannder in 
Chiefe there to be by him Disposed of. 

III. You shall describe unto them the content, situation and good- 
nesse of the said Island as the same is expressed in the Paper now delivered 
unto you which Wee received from our officers and Commissioners as 
also the plenty of horses and other cattle which are thereupon and you 
shall alsoe let them know the goodnesse safetie and conveniences for Trade 
of the Harb'"' where our men now are fortifieing and of other Harbours 
that are in that Island. 

IV. You shall assure them that of the Army which landed the tenth 
of May their are between six and seven thousand men well Armed and 
that since that, viz' the beginning of July last Wee have sent from hence 
another Regiment of ffoote Consisting of eight hundred souldiers Drawn 
out of our old Regiments with provisions of Bread and other necessaryes 
for the whole army for eight months imbarqued in twelve Shipps Eight 
whereof are good men of warr w'*" which Maio' Robert Sedgwick is sent 
as a Com"" in the civill affaires, and that there is also a squadron of eleaven 
shipps of good fforce under the comannd of Vice Adm" Goodson besides 
the said eight Shipps of Warr and one other Shipp of war of countenance 
in all to the number of Twenty with other Shipps of Burden and victual- 
lers, all W'' are appointed to remaine in those Seas and attend unto that 
service. 

V. You shall assure That Wee shalle through the blessing of God 
endeavor to defend the said Island against all attempts whatsoever and for 
that purpose shall Constantly send further Supplies both of men and ship- 



CROMWELL'S INSTRUCTIONS 89 

ping from hence as likewise of bread and other provisions untill the 
Island is able to supply it selfe. Our intention being if the Lord Please 
to have a good ffleet alwaies in those Seas. 

VI. This being the true State of that affaire and the reality of our 
Intentions therein Wee have thought it expedient to send you into the 
aforesaid Colonies and people to explaine and Declare these things unto 
them and to make them an offer of removing themselves or such numbers 
of them as shalbe thought convenient out of those parts where they now 
are unto Jamaica which Wee have done chiefly upon these ensueing 
reasons amongst many others. 

1. Our desire is That this place (if the Lord so please) may be 
inhabited by People who know the Lord and walke in his ffeare that by 
their light they may enlighten the parts about them which was a choise 
end of our undertaking this Designe, and might alsoe from amongst 
them have persons fitt for Rulers and Magistrates who may be an encour- 
agem* to the good and a terror to the evill doers. 

2. Out of Love and affection to themselves and the fellow feeling 
Wee have alwaies had of the difficulties and necessities thay have been 
put to contest with ever since they were driven from the Land of their 
Nativity into that Desert and barren Wildernes for their Consciences 
sake w"*" wee could not but make manifest at this tyme when as Wee 
thinke an oppertunity is offerred for their enlargem* and removing of 
them out of a hard Countrye into a Land of plenty. 

3. Considering that God by His providence through the many 
difficulties and necessities they are exercised with had put it into some 
of their hearts to seek a new plantation and particularly them of New 
Haven who (as wee are informed) are upon thoughts of removing into 
the Bay of De La-Ware and that the Distance between New England 
and this Island is not soe great but will afford a greater convenience of 
Trade and correspondence with their brethren they leave behind them 
then the Bay before mentioned, Wee have thought fitt to make this 
offer to them And for their better incouragement therein you are to make 
to them these following Proppositions. 

1. That in case any entire Colony or Colonyes or a Considerable 
number of Persons will transplant themselves thither such part of the 
Island lying next some good Harbour shalbe set out unto them as shalbe 
answerable to their numb" and shalbe graunted to them and their heires 
for ever with all edifices Horses Cattle tame or wyld, ffisheries woods 
Trees fruits and Profitts thereupon the same not being alreadie or shall 
not before an agreement made w"" them be sett forth to some Planters 
To be held in free and Comon Soccage without any rent for the first 
seaven yeares and then one penny an Acre and noe more. 

2. That they shall have Libertie graunted to them for the Space of 
seaven yeares to hunt take and Dispose of to their owne use such horses 
and other Cattle as are or shalbe upon the said Island the same not 



90 CROMWELL'S INSTRUCTIONS 

being marked by or belonging to other Planters Subject nevertheless 
to Such rules and Directions as to their hunting and takeing of Horses 
Cattle and other Beasts out of their owne bounds and lymitts as shall from 
tyme to tyme be made by the persons authorized for manageing the 
Affaires of the said Island. 

3. That His Highness will Graunt them Letters Patents under the 
Great Seale of Incorporation with as Large Priviledges and Imunityes 
both for Chooseing their officers and otherwise as are graunted to any 
Citye or towne Corporate within the Comonwealth of England. 

4. That neither they nor their servants shall without their owne 
Consent be drawne out into the Warrs unless it be in case of Invasion 
or Rebellion and for the defence of the said Island. 

5. That noe Custome excise impost or other duty shalbe sett and 
imposed for the Space of three yeares to be accompted from the 29"" Day 
of Septemb"" which shalbe in the yeare of our Lord 1656 upon any their 
goods or merchandizes of the groth production or manufacture of the 
said Island which they shall transport into the Comonwealth. 

6. That his Highnesse will take care and be oblidged to appointe 
from tyme to tyme Such a Governo'' and Comander in chiefe of the said 
Island and such persons to assist him in the management of the affaires 
thereof as shalbee men of Integritye and feareing God and that he will 
from tyme to tyme elect and constitute some from amongst them to be 
of that number who for their fidelitye prudence Godliness and honestie 
may be fitt for such Trust And that as speedy as may be a Civill Gov- 
ernment shalbe setled agreeable to the word of God, and as far as the 
condition of that place will admitt, to the Lawes of England, where pro- 
vision shalbe made that the Churches of Christ shall have liberty and 
protection in all waies of Godliness and Honestie. 

7. That towardes the transportation of themselves their Servants and 
Estates His Highnes will furnish them with Six Shipps of convenient 
burden if they desire that number and also a fitting convoy, They under- 
taking to victuall Shipps of burden from the tyme the said Shipps shall 
arrive in their ports for the purpose aforesaid untill they have performed 
their voyage. 

8. As to the quantity and proportion of Land to be appointed for 
them according to the first Proposition you are authorized to propound 
That such quantity of Land shalbe set forth as will answere the propor- 
tion of twenty Acres for every Male of twelve yeares old and upwards 
and ten acres Per Poll for all other Male or female to be transported as 
aforesaid. 

9. That the said quantity of Land shalbe set forth unto them within 
Six weeks after the agreement made for their transportation and Significa- 
tion of their desires on that behalfe to the Comander in Chiefe or Com" 
intrusted for that purpose to whom you shall direct yo' selfe or any other 
persons concerned herein in prosecution of the premises or any part of them. 



CROMWELL'S INSTRUCTIONS 91 

10. That they doe engage to transport the whole number of Males 
for w""" twenty Acres to each is to be set forth within two yeares after the 
aforesaid Agreement and that they doe begin their worke of transporting 
some tyme before the end of September 1656. 

11. You shall from tyme to tyme as you have opportunity or by 
an expresse if you find it necessary send unto Us in writtng a particular 
Account of your proceedings upon these Instructions and of what else 
shall occur in reference thereunto whereupon you shall receive Our fur- 
ther directions for the managem*^ of this afFaire as the Case shall require 
and such agreem* as you shall make in the meane tyme pursuant to these 
Instructions Wee shall confirme and ratilie.' 

At the same session it was resolved: 

"That it be referred to the Com" of the Adm'^' and Navy to give 
order for a fitt ship to convoy as farr and beyond the Island of Scilly 
a vessell now bound for New England wherein M' Daniell Gookin 
employed in the States Service is to be embarqued." 

'Interregnum Entry Book civ, 304-306. 




CHAPTER X 




ANIEL entered upon his employment in this 
affair with many misgivings. His mission, in- 
deed, was foredoomed to failure from its incep- 
tion. Not only were important considerations 
overlooked in the hastily formulated instruc- 
tions, but New England was far from being the 
J barren wilderness that Cromwell supposed, and, 
to the sturdy colonists, life in the tropics did not appear so 
alluring as his imagination pictured it. Moreover, any leanings 
in that direction they might have entertained, were dispelled 
by news which reached them of the melancholy fate of the sol- 
diers who formed the Jamaica garrison. On November 5, 
1655, while Daniel Gookin was still detained in England, 
Major Sedgwick, who had been sent out with the fresh regi- 
ment that left England in June and arrived at Kingston Octo- 
ber I, sent the Protector a disheartening report. 

"For the army," he wrote, "I found them in as sad and 
deplorable and distracted condition as can be thought of, 
and indeed think, as never poor Englishmen were in: the 
commanders — some dead, some sick, and some in indiffer- 
ent health: the soldiery — many dead, their carcasses lying 
unburied in the highways and among bushes . . . many of 
them that were alive walked like ghosts or dead men, who, as 
I went through the town, lay groaning and crying out, 'Bread, 
for the Lord's sake!'" The misfortunes of this shiftless and 
disorderly rabble, of whom Sedgwick complained, "Dig or 

92 



A TRYING VOYAGE 93 

plant they neither can nor will, but do rather starve than 
work," though due to their own improvidence and absolute 
neglect of all sanitary precautions, was attributed by them to 
the unhealthfulness of the island. 

Though Daniel's instructions were issued on September 
26, he was not able to leave England until about the loth of 
November, when he finally set sail. The Council of State 
passed an order on December 19 "for the payment of 50J. a 
day demurrage whilst the vessel was waiting to receive Mr. 
Gookin who was bound to New England on the Common- 
wealth service," and on May 15, 1656, the Admiralty Com- 
missioners authorized the payment to Peter Cole, owner of the 
"Fraternity," of 17/. los. for seven days' demurrage, pursuant 
to said order. 

The winter passage across the Atlantic in a small craft did 
not prove to be a pleasure trip. The words "trying" and 
"exercising" which Captain Gookin used in describing it indi- 
cate that he met with grave peril as well as discomfort. How- 
ever, the voyage was safely accomplished at last and on January 
20, 1655/6, the Fraternity arrived at Boston. Two days later 
Daniel wrote Secretary Thurloe as follows: 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE 

In obedience to your comaunds, these are to give acco*: that it pleased 
the Lord two dayes since, to land me safe in New England after ten weekes 
of an exercising passage from Isle of Wight, and here finding a shipp 
readie to sett saile to the barbadoes, and some persons therin to passe for 
England; w'^*' opertunity I thought it expedient to take, seeing their is no 
probability of another for a good space. It is little y' I cann at p'"sent 
aquaint yo"^ bono'' w''' concerning the affaire of his Highnes comitted to 
mee, but only in generall some principal men in the country doe well 
resent the designe of his highnesse & I doubt not but will promote the 
same; only some unworthy persons (that came from thence, have as I 
understand) brought up an evell report upon the Island in Respect of the 
unhelthfulnes therof, how farr it may be prejudicial I cannot yet resolve, 
but hope not much: I trust (through God's assistance) Not to be want- 
ing in my duty, and to give you full information as things Ripen, w"'' I 
desire the Lord to accomplish to his owne Glory and His Highneses satis- 
faction. So with my humble services & harty praiers that the Lord would 
Bless & prosper all yo"" waighty affaires; desiring excuse for this abrupt & 



94 FIRST REPORT TO THURLOE 

scribled letter, beeing surprised through shortnes of time, humbly takeing 
leave, I Remaine 

Your humble servant 
Boston in New England DANIEL GOOKIN 

January 21"' 1655^ 

The sailing of the ship for Barbados being delayed, this 
letter was supplemented two days later by another, of similar 
content but more carefully written. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE^ 

Your commands obleidging me to give inteligence by all oppertunities, 
it was expedient not to omit this per the Barbadoes, no other beeing like 
to offer it selfe for a good space; it is but very little hitherto that I have to 
acquaint your honer with, seeing it is only fouer days since my arrivall in 
New England after ten weeks of a trying passage from the Isle of Wight, 
it cannot yet bee collected upon any grounds of certainty what will be the 
issue of my Imploy. I hope the best, and trust through God's assistance 
not to be wanting in my utmost endevours. I have communicated the 
matter to the Governor and some other principall men, who seeme to 
resent things very well, and promise their best counsell and incouragement, 
being possessed of his Highnesse ayme at God's honer therin, together 
with his speciall respects to this people. As for other coloneys that are 
remote, and where I expect most may be done, I cannot addresse myself 
to them until the sharpness of the winter be past, which for the present 
renders the waies impassable, but in the interim, shall prosecute the worke 
in this Coloney. 

There are two things received by the people that seeme obstacles to 
the worke; one is the unhelthfulness of the island occasioned by an evell 
report raised by some unworthy persons that have come from thence into 
these parts; the other is strong fears of continuell invasion and disquiett 
by the Spanyards. I hope that both may be taken off or eased when truth 
is discovered. I can conclude nothinge, but commit the success to the 
Lord who worketh all things according to the councell of his owne will. 
With my humble services and unworthy prayers for the Lord's presence 
and grace continually to abide with his Highness and his helpers, to 
strengthen and incourage their harts and hands in the Lords worke, with 
my perticular respects to your honour I remaine 

Sir 
Your affectionate and humble servant 
Boston, January 24*'' 1655 DANIEL GOOKIN 

^ Rawl. MSS. A 34, 609. The date of this hastily written letter is manifestly 
an error. It should have been dated January 22. 
2Rawl. MSS. A 34,689. 



SECOND REPORT TO THURLOE 95 

Three months and a half elapsed before the next report 
was dispatched. It tells of faithful work, but records failure 
to make headway against obstacles that were in truth unsur- 
mountable. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE^ 

Right Hone'^i« 

Since my arivall in New England w'' was the ao**" of January last, I 
wrote two lefs by way of Barbadoes, & this third also the same way (being 
destitute of a direct conveyance from hence) the sume of the two first 
was principaly to informe yo' honno' of my arivall here & of a little motion 
that I had then made in his Highnesse's affayres, but the sharpnes of 
the winter, at that time in its strength, not only prevented my travill into 
other Colonies, but the meeting of the Councell of this Colonie, until the 
7*'' of March last (notwithstanding the Governour called them to meet a 
month before) in which intervale of time I endevored to make knowne 
to perticuler persons his Highnes desires, but little was done during that 
season for the forementioned reasons, but after the Council of this Colonie 
mett & I had delivered his Highnes lefs & shewed my instructions they 
thankfuly accepted his Highnes love in this offer, & readily orderd the 
promotion of his desires, requiring their officers to publish the matter, in 
that way I thought expedient, whereupon I forthwith caused a short decla- 
ration to be printed & sent abroad unto all the Townes & plantations of 
the English, not only in this but other Colonies, the Copie of which dec- 
laration Sz the Councills order I have inclosed, procuring & imploying 
some persons of trust in places remote to be helpfuU in promoting the 
busines. Shortly after this was done, about midle of April (as soone 
as the waies were well passable) I tooke my journey unto the Colonies 
of Conecticott & New Haven (150 miles out right for the most part 
through the wildernesse) And unto the magistrates of those Colonies 
declared the busines, delivering his Highnes lefs to JVP Eaton Gou'no'' of 
New Haven; Those Gent" Thankfully accepted his Highneses love and 
abundant kindnes as wel in this as in former matters & readily caused the 
printed papers to be published, manefesting themselves very willing to fur- 
ther the worke in the West indies which they trust is of God. But as 
to this place of Jamaica the minds of most men were averse for p''sent 
forasmuch as about that very time there came divers lefs from thence 
dated in November, declaring the sore hand of God in the sicknes and 
mortality of the English upon the Island, inasmuch that of 8 or 9 m Eng- 
lishmen landed there, more then one halfe were dead ; & such as yet lived 
were in a languishing condition, wherin also was related the death of 
Maio'' General ffortescue, M'' Gage & divers others, persons of note. 
This Tydings was a very great discouradgement to the most & best per- 

^Rawl. MSS. xxxviii, 263. 



96 OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED 

sons which otherwise 'tis probable would have ingaged to remove, only 
some few about lOO have subscribed, & those not very considerable for 
qualitie. But if the Lord should please to give the state either Hispaniola, 
Cuba, or any other likly and healthfull place, I have good reason to 
beleeve that Sundry considerable psons and Churches w"" their officers 
would Transplant from hence into those parts (but as for the Island of 
Jamaica, though, through the favor of God late inteligence of the 7**^ of 
March last from the Comissioners give great hopes that the Lord is 
returning to visitt the remnant y* is left w**" health & cure & also they 
give great incouradgment concerning the fertility and Comoditie of the 
said Island, which tydings I have endevored to publish, but what the 
effects then may bee, as to the drawing in of persons it beeing hardly 
yet knowne fully, I cannot determine). But this place namely Jamaica 
through many hard reports of it hath at p'^sent but a low esteeme in these 
parts, & in some respects as I conceve much worse y° it deserves. But 
yet notwithstanding their are about 20 persons wherof some are Godly 
and of Creditt who intend & desire to pass from hence to the said Island; 
& I have by advise from the Comissioners ordered that they may pass 
theither in a ship of the states lately come from thence & now here lade- 
ing masts & deales, for the fleet; wherof is Comader one Martin, beeing 
to resume about 6 weeks hence unto Jamaica now if the Lord please to 
carry them safe and that the Island be liked by them (as I trust it may) 
then 'they intend to fetch or send for their families & upon their good 
inteligence It is very probable that divers will remove, and in the interim 
(if the Lords thoughts be) to transplant any Considerable number of per- 
sons from hence, tis possible that upon this last newes I may shortly heare 
of greater motions among the people then formerly. Thus I have as 
briefly as I could perticulerly declared to yo"' Hono'' the substance of what 
is hitherto done. 

There is one thing further that I desire to mention w"'' is an obiec- 
tion I meet w''' from some principal persons, y' incline to transplant, & 
indeed the motions of such will draw or hinder many, if His Highnes see 
cause to remove it, tis probable it may further the work; They say their 
is no incouradgement in the propositions for ministers or men of place but 
what is equall with other men, now if a minister & his people should 
remove the people wil not be in capacity to maintaine their ministers & 
other publicke persons y* attend publicke worke untill they bee for some 
yeares setled & have by the blessing of God gained some estate & y® 
rather forasmuch as they who transplant from hence are disabled to carry 
their estates theither, w"*" consists principaly in catle & land, now there- 
fore if their were some annuall alowances proposed for such persons for 
a few yeares untill the people were inabled to maintayne y", or other 
meanes contrived it would take of this hindrance. 

I am hartily sorry that my service hath hetherto beene of so litle 
profitt unto His Highnes & the state, (whom I desire through the 



A JAMAICA COLONIZATION HANDBILL 97 

strength of God to serve with a faithfull hart diligently) but I trust his 
Highnes wisdome & yo" wil consider the providences of God that hath 
occurred and also remember some litle mention I made of my feares this 
way before I came forth upon this imploy, but yet I am not out of hope 
that his Highnesses godly intentions & desires in this great worke in the 
West indies, & elswhere wilbe owned & crowned w"" the Lords Blessing 
in his best season. Thus with my most humble service p'^sented & earnest 
praires unto him upon whose shoulders all Gou'nment is, That he will in 
favor give his gratious p'^sence & assistance unto his Highnes & yo' 
Honours in all emergencies I Remaine desirous to Bee: 

His Highnes & 
yo'' Honers 

most humble & 
{faithful servant 

Daniel Gookin 

Cambridge in N. E. 
May the 10*'' 1656 

Accompanying this letter was a transcript of the order 
adopted by the Council at their meeting in Boston, March 7, 
1655/6. 

Wheras Capt. Daniel Gookin hath p'^sented to the Councill a letter 
from his Highness, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, 
& Hath shewen unto us also the instructions w""** hee receued from his 
said Highnes, in both which it appeares that the said Capt. is imployed 
to Comunicate to the seuerall Townes and inhabitants of this Jurisdiction, 
his Highnes propositions to remoue such of the inhabitants as shall desire 
to be transplanted to Jamaica The Councell readily graunts the said Capt. 
Gookin liberty to Comunicate his said Instructions to any or euery Con- 
gregation or Towne within this Jurisdiction, according as hee shall see 
cause. And for that end he is at his Libertie to imploy any meet person 
or officer to Congregate the said people for that end on any lecture or 
other weeke day. 

By the Councill 

Edward Rawson Secret^ 

A copy was also enclosed of the printed announcement 
here given m fac-simile. 

To all Persons whom these may CONCERN, hi the Several 

Townes, and Plantations of the UNITED COLONIES 

in NEW-ENGLAND. 

It is hereby declared. That his Highness the Lord Protectour of the 
Common wealth of England &c: hath Commissioned and Impowered 



98 INDUCEMENTS TO EMIGRATE 

M' Daniel Gookin dwelling at Cambridg in the Massachusets, to make 
agreement with any convenient number of the English in the Colonies of 
New-England, who shall desire to remove themselves or families into 
"Jamacia in the West-Indies, now in possession of the State of England; 
And for their better Incouragement, His Highness (bearing a special affec- 
tion to the people of New England, and being very desirous to have the 
said place inhabited by a stock of such as know the LORD, and walk in 
his Fear,) will graunt them, Ships for transportation; a sufficient propor- 
tion of Land to them and theire heires for ever near some good harbour in 
the said Island; Protection (by God's blessing) from all enemies; a share 
of all the Horses, Cattle, and other beasts, wild and tame upon the place 
freely, Together with other Priviledges and Immunities, the particulars 
wherof may be known by those who shall see cause to address themselves 
to the said Daniel Gookin (or such as he shall desire to be helpfull herein, 
whose names are underneath expressed in writing) ^ who will be ready to 
make full agreement with them according to his Highness Instructions, 
and take their reciprocall Ingagements and Subscriptions to remove accord- 
ingly. Farther it is desired that such as incline to the Design aforesaid 
to make known themselves without delay it being his Highness Pleasure 
that the work of Transporting should be begun before the end of Septem- 
ber next. 

Dated this 25 of March 1656. 

From the outset it must have appeared to Daniel that it 
was scarcely worth while to persist in the face of such adverse 
conditions. By midsummer he regarded his task as practically 
at an end, as is shown by his next letter, written July 24. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE2 

Right Honer"" 

Please herby to understand, that I have written severall lefs by way 
of Barbados, & comited them to the faithfullest persons I could meet with, 
some wherof (I trust) are long since come to your hands, but I never had 
oppertunitie to write directly from hence untill this p'sent (and I saw not 
any nessesseitie for an expresse). I have given pticular acct. formerly what 
successe his Highness affairs (commited to me) hath found in these pts, the 
summe wherof is that the generalitye of the godly in all the Country do 
cordialy Resent his Highnes good will, faver, & love, as well in this as other 
matters, & do unfainedly (I trust) beare upon their harts before the Lord, 
him his work & helpers, and I have ground to thinke that all the English 
Coloneys will see cause in perticuler lefs of thanks to manefest their duty 

^None appended to this copy. 
^Rawl. MSS. xxxix, 431-2. 



FURTHER DISCOURAGEMENTS 99 

and speciall Respects to his Highnes. As soone as the weather was 
travellable, I visited all the united Colonies of the English, wch are 4 in 
Number & a good distance from each other and in all of them endeve'^d 
the promotion of his Highnes desires and offers of transplantation to 
Jamaica; indeed I found sundry considerable psons who have had much 
motion uppon their harts to gratifie the cordiall offers of his Highnes. 
But discouradgments from the great Mortalitie of the English upon the 
place, the prophanenesse of the generalitie of the soldiers, The continnuall 
hazard of men's lives, by the sculking Nigroes^& spanyards, all wch & 
sundry other matters were and are strongly reported here, wch doth (for 
the present) cause many to suspend their resolves & desire to wait longer 
intreating the lord to guide them in a right way for them & there wives 
& little ones, only there are about three hundred soules, who have ingaged 
to remove next Attufne, if their be transportation wherof I have advised 
the Comissioners at Jamaica about a month since by one of the states 
ships that loded masts here, for Jamaica; in w''^ shipp also went three 
godly persons from hence to see the Island and upon their liking to take 
possession for their Brethren Si. companions that Intend to follow; divers 
wherof especialy heads of familyes are godly honest & industrious people 
& if the Lord see meet to cary them theither I have cause to hope they 
wilbe a blessing to the place. I have not absolutely ingaged shipping to 
be sent for seeing their numbers are so fewe; but have left it to the Com- 
issioners, at y" Island to doe as they shal have orders. 

It is a triall to mee (but the Lords disposeings silenceth my hart) that 
his Highnes Cost & my travel hath been hitherto so ineffectuall, but I 
doubt not the Lord will accept and owne in Cht Jesus what ever hath 
been intented in this matter, in order to his glory Si. his peoples welfare, 
and that those concerned shal' find returnes of this bread cast uppon the 
waters in its best season. 

I now wait for his Highnes & yo"^ honours further pleasure in this or 
any other matter here, wherin such an unworthy one as my selfe might be 
any way servicable, for tis upon my hart to spend & be spent for the Lord 
& for his Highnes & the saints whome my hart is much devoted to in 
the Lord, being perswaded through grace that the Lord wilbe with his 
Highnes & Helpers in the work of these though the floods of Sathan & 
his Instruments, bee very deepe in their enmitie & malignatie; But the 
Lord hath laid helpe upon one y* is mighty & able to save to the very 
uttermost all that come to god by him & the gou''nment is upon his shoul- 
ders & though instruments may sometime be plunged deepe, yet w"' him 
is wisdome, councel & strength. 

If his highnes pleasure bee to dismisse mee from this worke (which 
seems ended) I humbly intreat it may bee signified unto mee the next 
returne of shippingg to these parts, because the Lord seems to call mee 

^Not until the end of the eighteenth century were the English settlers free from 
the depredations of the "Maroons," as these negroes were called. 



loo ENDICOTT'S LETTER TO CROMWELL 

back to England, for the Issueing a buisnes of some concernment to me, 
which i left at my coming away, unfinished (but committed it to friends 
who have made no progress therein.) 

Thus Right Hon'''" desiring hartily to pray to the Lord for his gra- 
tious presence k assistance to follow his Highnes and helpers, and that 
yo' persons &: prairs may be neare unto the Lord day and night that he 
may maintaine the cause of his servant & the cause of his people Israel & 
doe every day in the day as the matter shall require, 1 humbly take leave, 
Intreating to be acco**'^ one of the number of his Highneses & yo"' Hon- 
ours Faithfull (though unworthy) servants 

Daniel Gookin 

Cambridge in New England 

xxiiij"" v"" month 

1656 



On October 23 Governor Endicott "in the name and 



w 



th 



the consent of the Generall Court," addressed a letter to the 
Protector, in which he said: "We received by Captaine 
Gookin yo'' Highnes proposalls for the removeall of some of 
o" to the Island of Jamaica, w'^'^ by o"" order were comunicated 
to the people of this Jurisdicon, in complyance w*'' yo'' High- 
nes good and pious intentions of planting the place w**" such 
as through the blessing of God may hopefullie promote a 
designe so religious: But if by the intelligence from thence 
of the mortallitie of the English there, the motion heere 
answereth not expectation May it please your Highnes not 
to impute it to us as declyning yo"" service, much less as dis- 
accepting yo'' favo' & endeavours of promoting what may 
conduce to o' welfare. "^ 

A month later Daniel felt constrained to make yet another 
report. Even the scant measure of success indicated in his 
last letter had faded away. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE^ 

Right Hon'''" 

The fruit of my labour in his Highnes service (through the disposeing 
hand of God) being rendered very unanswerable to his pious intentions it 
is hardly worth my troubling your honour with the recitall thereof, only 
duty obleidging me to faithfulness, I shall acquaint your honour how things 
now stand in refference to that aflrayre. 

iRawI.MSS. A xliii, 125. 
^ Ibid 241. 



CONDITIONS IN JAMAICA loi 

In severall letters by way of Barbadoes, and one from hence, which 
was the only direct convayance (hitherto providence p''sented), I signified 
to yo"^ Honour in perticuler my proceedings in that service, the suiiie 
whereof was to declare What I had done in order to promote his Highnes 
gracious tenders, to plant the island of Jamaica with some godly people 
from these parts; and to that end I personally travilled to the severall col- 
onies, viz: Conecticut, New Haven, and New Plimouth, and Bay, who 
did all thankfully resent his Highnes great love and favour, and I conceive 
have written to that end. But the great difficulties and discouradgment 
the English have grapled with in that place, being fully known heere, have 
made the most considerable persons slow to appeare or ingage. to trans- 
plant for the p'^sent, lest they should bring themselves and families into 
great inconveniences; only there was about three hundred souls that sub- 
scribed, who for the most part are young persons under family government, 
and many of them females, and for quality of low estate, but divers 
personally godly. Three of this number tooke oppertunitie to passe to 
the island in July last (in a ship of the state's that loded masts heare) to 
discover the condition and sutableness of the island for themselves and 
freinds to move unto; two of which three persons returned from the said 
Island about four daies since in a vessel of this country that was there : they 
brought letters to me and a packett and a single letter for yo'' honour, 
which I have delivered to James Garret, commander of the ship Hopwell 
now bound for England the first winde, with expresse charge to send it 
upp with all speed after his arrivall. These two persons that are returned 
(for the third abides their for further triall) do report something for encour- 
adgment and something the Contrary. To the first they speak fully of 
the fertilitie, pleasantness, and present healthfulness of the Island and how 
much good may, in all probability, bee done there by an industrious and 
diligent people. The discouradgements they relate are the weak, low, and 
careless posture of the English upon the place in order to settlement, with 
the scarcity of victuall and their whole dependance upon forraigne supplys, 
neglecting planting for the moste part; also the death of their friend Major 
Robert Sedgwicke and some others adds to their present discouradge- 
ments; and they apprehend that the poore people engaged are not in a 
fin posture to remove act present, seeing their numbers for quality and 
quantitie is too weake to setle and cary on a plantation for the honour of 
his Highnes or thier owne comfort. Yet this I perceive, that severall of 
them stand much inclined to remove, and some will goe, if shipping pre- 
sent, and many more, if the Lord so please to change the face of things 
hereafter. 

I doubt not but the packett from thence will spare me a labour in 
recitall of what I heard from thence. Their present strait is want of 
bread and some other provisions wherof some late supply is transported 
from hence. The ship Church, fly-boate, one Evans commander, sent 
thither for that ende, which ship landed about 90 cwt of biskett and above 



I02 FATE OF THE COLONISTS FROM NEVIS 

2500 bushells of pease, whose dispatch and furtherance from hence, about 
a month past, I gave my help unto, being therunto desired by letters from 
the Commissioners at Jamaica. 

I have noe more at present to add but my humble service to your 
honour, and my poore prayers to the King of Heaven to preserve, guide, 
strengthen, and prosper his Highness in the Lorde's worke, whom faith- 
fully to serve as the Lord enableth, shall be the studdy and desire of 

S' his Highness and 
your honours 
servant 

Daniel Gookin 

23*^ of the 8*'' month 
1656 

In November Luke Stokes, the Governor of Nevis, re- 
moved to Jamaica with "no less than 1600 of the poorer 
inhabitants of his island,"^ and settled at Port Morant, These 
people had long been accustomed to West Indian Hfe, yet 
before they had been three months in their new home they 
lost two-thirds of their number, including Stokes himself. 
After this additional evidence of the dangers to which colon- 
ists in Jamaica exposed themselves, further effort on the part 
of Daniel Gookin was clearly perceived to be useless. In 
June he sent a letter which may be regarded as his final 
report. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO SECRETARY THURLOE 2 

Right Hon^i" 

The disposeing hand of God hath so rendered that afFayre of trans- 
planting New England people into Jamaica, that a further account is 
scarcely worth his Highness knowledge; yet duty obliedgeing me, I dare 
not omitt it. So it is, that since the returne of those that went to view 
the Island from hence, and the intelligence by the last of them, of the 
mortalitie amongst the Nevis planters, such a dampe is put to the most 
active ingagers, that all are silent to a remove at present. I am apt to 
thinke, that divers of them will find cause to repent of this their chainge, 
and breach of promise, seeing there is no just cause of discouradgement 
as I can perceive. As for that of Nevis men, that place (as I hear) was 
ominous to the Spanyard for unhealthfulness; and all men, even those 
that went, report the delicasy and fertility of the Island, which, by God's 

' Gardiner, Hist. Com and Prot. Ed. 1903, iv, 223. 
= Rawl.MSS. Ali, 185. 



FINAL REPORT TO THURLOE 103 

blessing, would have been a meanes to put a change unto some of their 
low conditions; besides the opportunity might have bene put into their 
hands to enlardge the profession of the gospell, where Sathan & Antichrist 
hath so long had his throne: but the mind and hart of man is so blind 
and unstable, that he is most ready to miss his own mercy and neglect 
his duty. 

I doe further account myself obleidged to acquaint your honor with 
intelligence lately had by the Captaine of a French man of Warre named 
Mon. Bleau, who arrived at the Dutch plantation adjacent to us with a 
rich Spanish prize. This Captaine professeth great respects to the noble 
English nation, and gives reason for it from severall curtisies he received 
in the West Indies, both from Admiral Goodson and others. In a shipp 
he tooke that was bound from Cuba to Spaine, he intercepted letters that 
spake the purposes of the Spanyards upon Cuba, to attempt the retaking 
of Jamaica; which they are animated unto by intelligence gather'd from 
an Englishman in their power, whom hee called an engineeare, who 
belonged to Jamaica : this advice the Frenchman gives to the Governor 
of this place, in a letter sent on purpose, which I had the sight of, and 
intends to bee here shortly himselfe, and then to give more particular 
information from the letters themselves, which wilbe coppied out, and sent 
for England to his Highness. I have advised Colonell Brayne^ of this 
by a lettre wrote yesterday, that passeth in a fly-boat of the States, now 
ready to saile hence, laden with masts and deales, under the command of 
one Furmage. 

And now, Right Honourable, since my service for his Highness in 
this place seemes fully ended at present, I hope it may be no offence if I 
returne for England by the next ship, respecting some perticular occasions 
of my owne left undone at my coming away; and also to tender myselfe 
ready (if called thereunto) with my poor witt to serve his renowned High- 
ness in the Lord, unto whome my hart stands firmly bent and devoted, as 
to him, whome the God of Heaven hath eminently designed to doe great 
things for the honor of his great name and inlardgement of the King- 
dome of his Christ, and good of his poore church; which the good Lord 
strengthens him and his helpers into every day more and more; and when 
their work is finished, receive him and them into the third heaven to 
triumph in glory through Eternitie. So he, humbly and earnestly desires 
to pray, who is 

His Highness and 
your Honour's 
servant 
Cambridge, in New England DANIEL GOOKIN 

June XX*'' 1657 

^The new Governor of Jamaica who had arrived at his post in December with 
a considerable force. He sent the discontented soldiers home, and by his firmness 
and good judgement, within a few months, effectually remedied the conditions that 
prevailed before his arrival. 





CHAPTER XI 

LTHOUGH in June, 1657, Daniel announced 

his intention of sailing for England "in the next 

ship," the opportunity did not come for nearly 

five months. When at last it did arrive, he had 

a narrow escape from losing his life. This is the 

story as told by himself: 

"But An. 1657, in the month of November,^ Mr. 
Mayhew, the son,^ took shipping at Boston, to pass for England, about 
some special concerns, intending to return with the first opportunity; for 
he left his wife and children at the Vineyard : in truth his heart was very 
much in that work,^to my knowledge, I being well acquainted with him. 
He took his passage for England in the best of two ships then bound for 
London, whereof one James Garrett was master. The other ship, whereof 
John Pierse was commander, I went passenger therein, with Mr. Heze- 
kiah Usher senior of Boston and several other persons. Both these ships 
sailed from Boston in company. Mr. Garrett's ship, which was about 
four hundred tons, had good accomodations, and greater far than the other: 
and she had aboard her a very rich lading of goods, but most especially of 
passengers, about fifty in number; whereof divers of them were persons of 
great worth and virtue, both men and women; especially Mr, Mayhew, 
Mr. Davis, Mr. Ince, and Mr. Pelham, all scholars, and masters of art, as I 
take it most of them. The second of these, viz. Mr. Davis, son to one of 
that name at New Haven, was one of the best accomplished persons for 
learning, as ever was bred at Harvard College in Cambridge in New Eng- 
land. Myself was once intended and resolved to pass in that ship : but 
the master, who sometimes had been employed by me, and from whom I 
expected a common courtesy, carried it something unkindly as 1 conceived, 

1 November 13. See Diary of John Hull in Tr. Am. Ant. Soc. iii, 181. 
*Rev. Thomas Mayhew, junior, of Martha's Vineyard. 
^Preaching to the Indians, which he did in their own tongue. 

104 



SERVICE AT DUNKIRK 105 

about my accomodations of a cabin : which was an occasion to divert me 
to the other ship, where I also had good company, and my life also pre- 
served, as the sequel proved : For this ship of Garrett's perished in the 
passage, and was never heard of more."^ 

Arriving in England about the time of the summary disso- 
lution of the second Protectorate parliament on February 4, 
1657/8, after its short and stormy second session, Daniel found 
that since he sailed away, two years before, a noticeable change 
had taken place in the temper of the people. Restlessness 
under the arbitrary rule of the Major Generals, and dissatis- 
faction with the ascendancy of the military party were becoming 
very general. And in spite of the intensity of his Puritanism 
some echo must have reached him of the growing reaction 
against excessive religious enthusiasm, — a reaction, which, fol- 
lowing Cromwell's willingness to accord liberty of conscience 
to others, was the harbinger of the age of toleration. It was 
indeed an eventful time. In June came the joyful news of the 
defeat of the Spanish forces by the English and French allies 
at the battle of the Dunes, followed a few days later by the 
formal delivery of Dunkirk into the hands of the English, 
Then, at the beginning of September, came that cruel blow to 
the hopes of the Puritans, the death of the Lord Protector, 
awakening apprehensions that were to increase daily as the 
incompetency of his successor became more manifest. 

It would, perhaps, be possible to trace Daniel's movements 
during this year if more had been learned about the "special 
concernment" that took him to England. Whatever it was, 
progress appears to have been slow. While waiting, other 
occupation was possible. So he sought and obtained the 
post of collector of customs at Dunkirk, the minutes of the 
Council of State for March 10, 1658/9, recording that he was 
"to be commissioned to receive the duties there. "^ This 
place was apparently a temporary one, for during the summer 
he laid a petition before the Council intimating his desire for 
some employment, "at Dunkirk if possible." ^ This received 

*Hist. Collections of the Ind. in New Eng. ,chap. ix 
^Cal. State Papers Dom. 1658-59, p. 302. 

^This seems to point to Dunkirk as the place of residence of Edward Gookin. 
The Letters of Administration issued by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury ran to 



io6 RETURN TO NEW ENGLAND 

favorable consideration. The Committee for Dunkirk, on 
August 30, recommended that Mr. Gookin "be nominated 
Deputy Treasurer at War, to reside in Dunkirk, and receive 
and pay all moneys for the forces there, and also for contin- 
gencies, that the accounts may be better kept, and he is to be 
responsible for all, and communicate the state of affairs as 
occasion requires."^ The appointment was accordingly made 
by the Council of State, September 2, 1659.2 

When, on May 25, 1660, King Charles II sailed across the 
English Channel to land at Dover, where the cliffs "were 
covered by thousands of gazers, among whom scarcely one 
could be found who was not weeping with delight," ^ Daniel 
Gookin, having embarked for home on the same ship^ that 
had brought him to England a little more than two years 
earlier, had looked for the last time upon his native land, 
and was several days out upon the long voyage across the 
Atlantic. With him as fellow passengers were the regicides. 
General Whalley and Colonel Goffe, who had thought it pru- 
dent to flee to the new world before Charles should arrive and 
take up the reins of government. Had the diary which Goffe 
kept from May 4, 1660, the day he left Westminster, until the 
year 1667,^ not been destroyed when the Boston mob set fire 
to Governor Hutchinson's house, we should no doubt have 
many interesting details concerning this voyage and about 
Daniel Gookin during the seven months the regicides spent 
in Cambridge. All of this diary that survives is a transcript 
of a few entries. 

I2d. 3m iMay 12, 1660] — The King was proclamed at Gravesend; 
there was much rejoycing among the people, but God's people lamented 
over y" grt profaneness wth wch y* Joy was express'd. It was observed 
y' many dogs did y* day run mad; & dyed suddenly in y® Town. 

" Daniel Gookin, natural, lawfull, and only brother of Edward Gookin, late in the 
parts upon or beyond the seas, batchelor, deceased" (Adm. Act Book, July, 1655). 

iCal. S. P. Dom. 1658-9, p. 161. 

2Ibid.,p. 165. 

'Macaulay, Hist, of Eng., ch. i. 

* Presumably the "Royal Exchange," which was the name of the ship com- 
manded by Capt. Pierce in 1668. 

^Hutchinson, Hist. Mass. Bay, Ed. 1795, p. 197. 



EXTRACTS FROM GOFF'S JOURNAL 107 

13 d 2m — Wee Kept Sabbath abord. To a good Ministers Church 
in the Towne was stuck up near ye pulpit a Broom; in token as was by 
all conceived, y* ye minister should shortly be swept away from them. 

27d 5m [July 27, 1660] — Wee came to Anchor betwen Boston & 
Charlestown; betwen 8 & 9 in y* morning: All in good health thro: 
ye good hand of God ! upon us : oh ! y* men would praise the Lord for 
his goodness ... as ps. 107, 21, &c. 

29d 5m. — Lord's Day, heard Mr. Mitchell preach. 

9d 6m, [Aug. 9 1660] — Went to Boston Lecture, heard Norton. 
Scotch ship brought threatn'd recognition by one who came in it. At 
Night majr Gookin shewed us a printed papery* was brought in y^ Scotch 
Ship, wherein y® Lds do order 66 members of y® High court of Justice to 
be secured, w*'' y' Estates, — its dated i8d May 1660, but I will meditate 
on Hebr. 13. 5.6. 

i6d 6m — Sup'd with Mr. Chauncey, he was persuaded y* Ld had 
brought us to this country for good both to them and ourselves. 

It can scarcely be doubted that Wlialley and Goffe took 
up their residence in Cambridge at the instance of their friend 
Gookin, both for their greater security, and that he might have 
more abundant opportunity of enjoying their society. And 
as they proceeded thither on the day of their landing, it is 
possible that for a time, at least, they were his guests, though 
prudence must have dictated that their stay under his roof 
should not be longer than until they could find a suitable 
abiding place elsewhere. They were, it is said, "held in exceed- 
ingly great esteem for their piety and parts," and, during their 
stay in the colony, "held meetings where they preached and 
prayed, and were looked upon as men dropped down from 
heaven." 1 With their further story this history is not con- 
cerned, save that when word reached Boston that complaints 
were abroad about the way they were received by the principal 
men of the colony, Daniel Gookin was one of the Magistrates 
who were present at the session of the General Court on 
December 19, and helped make the "Address to the King" 
which it was thought wise to send to Charles by a special 
messenger. Two months later, on the day that Whalley and 
Goffe set out for New Haven under the guidance of an Indian, 
Daniel was one of those who attended a Council meeting to 

^Cal. s. P. Col. 1661-8, p. 54. 



io8 ENGLISH DISSATISFACTION 

consider what should be done about their apprehension ! Again 
on March 8 we find his name recorded among those present at 
a meeting of the Council when a warrant for the arrest of the 
judges was issued^ and given to a deputy who was sent as far 
as Springfield on their track, but, as was no doubt expected, 
returned empty handed. These pretended efforts did not 
deceive the government in England, and the show of earnest 
endeavor following the receipt, a few days later, of an order for 
the regicides' arrest — the search for them being then com- 
mitted to two zealous royalists — was made too late to create a 
different impression. An English correspondent of Rev. John 
Davenport of New Haven wrote, October 28, 1661: "The Bay 
stirring soe much for the Apprehending of W: & G: signifie 
at present heere but little, because they were so long with them 
& then did nothing."^ 

Realizing that the dissatisfaction of the English government 
with their reception of Whalley and Goffe, as also with their 
persistent disregard of the navigation laws, and various other 
acts of insubordination, threatened to involve them in grave 
difficulties, the General Court when it met on May 22, 1661, 
attempted to remove some of the causes of offence. At the 
close of the session a Committee was appointed "to consider 
and debate such matter or thing of public concernment touch- 
ing our patent, laws, privileges, and duty to his Majesty, as 
they in their wisdom shall judge most expedient, and draw up 
the result of their apprehensions, and present the same to the 
next session for consideration and approbation, that so (if the 
will of God be) we may speak and act the same thing, becom- 
ing prudent, honest, conscientious, and faithful men." 

The report, signed by Thomas Danforth, and probably 
written by him, is an exceedingly adroit document. While 
setting forth the duty of allegiance to the King, and inciden- 
tally affirming that "The warrant and letter from the King's 
majesty, for the apprehending of Col. Whalley and Col. Goffe, 
ought to be diligently and faithfully executed by the authority 

^Suffolk Deeds v, iii. 

^Quoted by George Sheldon, in "Whalley and Goffe in New England," printed 
as an introduction to the new edition of Judd's History of Hadley. 



GOOKIN'S OATH OF ALLEGIANCE 109 

of this country," stress is laid upon their liberties under their 
charter. These are set forth and defined in eight paragraphs, 
of which the last one well summarizes the position maintained 
during the long struggle that followed, by the party of which 
Danforth and Gookin were the leaders. "We conceive any 
imposition prejudicial to the country contrary to any just law of 
ours, not repugnant to the laws of England, to be an infringe- 
ment of our right." 

In their attitude of resistance to all encroachments on their 
chartered rights, these sturdy Puritans never wavered. "Dan- 
iel Gookin, before he took the oath of allegiance in Court, 
May 24th, 1665, did openly and plainly declare that in taking 
that oath he would be so understood as not to infringe the 
liberty and privileges granted in his Majesty's royal charter 
to the Governor and Company of Massachusetts, whereof he 
is a member, and unto which he is sworn formerly. Boston 
the 24th of May 1665. Daniel Gookin." 1 

It was this spirit of unwillingness on the part of the colo- 
nists to submit to arbitrary government that had led the Eng- 
lish government, in 1664, to appoint a board of commissioners, 
consisting of Col. Richard Nichols, Sir Robert Carr, George 
Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick, to visit New England and 
enforce their subjection. Fortunately, Colonel Nichols, the 
senior member of the commission, was a man of sense. Nev- 
ertheless, much friction was engendered by the invitation, 
but so shrewdly was the controversy managed by the Gen- 
eral Court, that in the end the commissioners were discom- 
fited and obliged to return without having accomplished their 
object. Credit for this is due in large measure to Gookin 
and Danforth, whose efforts were untiring. When Colonel 
Nicholls arrived in Boston, they, together with Edward Col- 
lins, William Parks, and Lieut. Hopestill Foster, were con- 
stituted a committee "to consider of the matters presented 
by his majesties honorable commissioners." On the same 
day Gookin and Danforth were appointed on another com- 
mittee, "to consider of all the papers delivered into this Court 

^Mass. Archives, cvi, 132. A similar statement by Danforth, dated May 26, 
1665, is also preserved in the same volume. 



no REFUSAL TO ANSWER COMMISSIONERS 

by Colonell Richard Nicholls & the rest of his majesties com- 



missioners." 



Later in the same month — May, 1665 — it was ordered 
by the General Court, "that the Gouerno'', Deputy Gouerno', 
Capt. Daniel Gookin, M"" Thomas Danforth, Majo^ Genii Jn° 
Leueret, & the secretary be a comittee to peruse all the letters 
& writings of publick concernment that hath past this Court 
in their transactions w**" the hono''able comissioners, & what is 
of publick concernmt to be sent to England, & to take order 
for the sending of them to such persons as they, or the majo'' 
part of them, shall judg meet; who are also impoured or the 
majo'' pt of them, to act in all things as they shall judg meete, 
to send for England by the first and second ships copies pre- 
pared to follow that all may be improved for this colonies 
advantage." 

The details of the long controversy with the Commission- 
ers have often been told, and need not here be dwelt upon, 
except as regards one incident in which Captain Gookin fig- 
ures. Carr wrote Lord Arlington, the English Secretary of 
State, under date of December 14, 1665: "Col. Whalley and 
Goff were entertained and feasted in every place after they 
were told they were traitors and ought to be apprehended. 
They were furnished at Cambridge with horses and a guide, 
and sent to New Haven for security. Capt. Daniel Gooking, 
being reported to have brought over and to manage their 
estates, the Commissioners seized his cattle in the King's Pro- 
vince for his Majesty's use, but he refused to answer before 
the Commissioners, so no more was done in it. Capt. Pierce, 
who transported Whalley and Goff into New England, may 
say something to their estate. They of this colony say that 
Charles I granted them a charter as a warrant against him- 
self and successors, and so long as they pay the fifth of all 
gold and silver ore they are not obliged to the King but by 
civility."^ 

^Cal. S. p. Col. Am. and West Ind. 1661-8, p. 345. The warrant for the seiz- 
ure of Daniel Gookin's estate was issued at Warwick, March 21, 1664/5. 













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CHAPTER XII 

HE General Court on May 15, 1657, "In ans' to 
the mocon of Majc Symon Willard and Cap* 
Daniell Gookin in reference to theire publick 
service donne," granted them five hundred acres 
of land apiece. In October, shortly before Cap- 
tain Gookin sailed for England the Court ordered 
that his grant "be laid out in some convenient 
place on the eastermost side of Pequot River; and on the 26th 
of May following Captain George Dennison reported that he 
had laid out "unto Capt. Daniell Gookin, in the Pequot coun- 
trie, five hundred acres of land, being bounded on the west w*^ 
Poquatucke River, on y® south w*** the Sound, on the east w**" 
Thomas Prentice, & on the north w*'' the wildernes." 

Returning from England at the end of July, 1660, Daniel 
found that Southertowne, as the place where his grant was 
located had been named, was claimed by Rhode Island men, 
who had trespassed upon the lands and threatened the settlers. 
A warrant for the arrest of these "sundry rude fellows," 
issued October 8, i66i,by Governor Endicott, Deputy Gov- 
ernor Bellingham, and Daniel Gookin, resulted in the commit- 
ment of Tobias Saunders and Robert Burdett until they should 
pay a fine of j[ioo apiece.^ After this quiet reigned until the 
following spring, when the Rhode Island General Court took 
cognizance of the matter, as appears by the following docu- 
ment, which is on file in the Massachusetts archives, though 



1 Records of the Colony of R. I. and Prov. Plantations, i, 155-6. 

Ill 



112 THE PAUCATUCK CONTROVERSY 

curiously no mention of it appears upon the records of the 
Rhode Island Court.^ 

At a Generall Court begun the 20th of May 1662, holden at War- 
wicke, in his Majesty's name for the Collony of Providence Planta- 
tions, &c. 

Ordered, by the authority abovesayd, that the following prohibition 
be signed by the Recorder, and sent unto Capt. Daniel Gookin and to 
every other person that it may concerne, viz: 

Whereas the Court is informed that you the above named Captaine 
Danyell Gookin, or any other person or persons not having the leave of 
this Collony's Court, are endeavouring to force into this jurisdiction and 
to take possession of lands within the same at or about Pawcatuck, alias 
Misquamacott, by building, fencing, planting and otherwise, which your 
forceable entrance being wholly without the leave and contrary to the 
minds of this Collony, is, in a very high degree contrary unto the peace, 
crowne and dignity of our Lord the King. 

And therefore you, and every of you are in his Majesty's name 
required to desist from and forbeare such instrusions ... as you will 
answer the contrary at your own perill," &c. 

The annoyance continuing, Daniel and the other grantees 
complained to the Commissioners for the United Colonies, who 
took up the matter at a meeting held in Boston, September 4, 
1662, and addressed a letter to the Rhode Island Court: 

" Gentlemen : Wee are enformed your people proceed with 
an high hand, and pretend authoritie for theire acting, and offi- 
cers calling themselves Constables reddy assist them in their 
Injuries and of?encive (truly wee may say) wicked demeanours: 
building upon the land; threatening Captaine Gokens tenant, 
to carry him to prison and drive away his cattle; cuting his 
grasse; by glueing ill example to Pequot Indians that are in 
subjection to us; by profaning the sabbath, and selling great 
quantities of liquors to them; which once and againe wee 
thought meet to present to you considering that the rather 
(though wee could not ezely) the persons aforesaid acted with- 
out youer Incurragement, because wee haue seen a warrant 
signed by youer Recorder, Joseph Torey, warning Captaine 
Gokens and others to advise and forebeare any further or 
future possession of any of the lands att or about Pocatuck, 

^Records of R. I. and Prov. Plantations, i. 463. 



APPEAL TO THE GENERAL COURT 113 

as they will answer the contrary att their perill." Then fol- 
lows a statement of the legal claim to the Paucatuck lands, and 
a formal requirement that the Rhode Island men should 
withdraw. 

When the King's commissioners appeared upon the scene, 
the Rhode Island claimants appealed to them, with such suc- 
cess that at a meeting held at Warwick April 4, 1665, they 
declared all the grants made by Massachusetts within the 
disputed territory "to be voyd." Thereupon the grantees 
joined in a petition to the Massachusetts General Court for 
relief. 

The humble petition of Daniel Gookin, Amos Richison, Thomas 
Prentice, Dean Winthrop, Roger Plaisted, Chades Chancy, praesident of 
the colledg. in behalfe of that society, & severall others, 

Humbly shevveth, — 

That whereas your petitioners have had severall parcells of land 
granted unto us in the Pequot country, neere the River of Pawcatucke, 
which were laid out & confirmed by this Court, allowed 5z approved by 
the coiriissioners of the United Colonies, w"" the consent of the Indians 
that remained & lived upon it, upon which grounds some of us were 
incouraged to lay out our estates in the emproovement thereof for sev- 
erall yeares, not doubting the justnes of the title, being both concquered 
& long possessed, all which notw^'^standing, it hath pleased his majesties 
honorable comissioners (through some misinformation as wee conceive) to 
give forth an order, under three of their handes & seales, requiring us & 
our tennants to depart of from the said lands, & out of our houses & 
possessions there. Si. to put of all our catle at or before the 29*^ day of Sep- 
tember next, w*''out calling some of us to answer or speake for our rights, 
which decree, if it Take effect (& wee know no way to prevent it,) is like 
to be the mine of some of our famihes; therefore our humble request to 
the honoured Court is, that you will conferr w''' the hono'^able Comission- 
ers about this matter & use some meanes for our reliefe (for some of us 
have sought it of them w*''out effect hitherto;) but it may be the Court 
will cleare matters to them for their better information. 

The Court ordered Secretary Rawson to lay this petition 
before the Commissioners. Apparently the Commissioners 
reversed their decision, for Daniel Gookin remained in pos- 
session of his grant until February 6, 1671/2, when he and his 
wife conveyed to "Symon Lynde of Boston merchant," for the 
sum of j^2o6 sterling, "All that our farme and housing thereon 



114 MANY ACTIVITIES 

(being an Neck of Land) sittuate lying & being in the Pequitt 
CunteP' on Pawcutuck River," &c. 

It may well be that the small benefit he had been able to 
realize from the grant of the Paucatuck farm, was one of the 
"severall considerations especially moving" thereto, that led 
the General Court, on October ii, 1665, to make Daniel 
another grant of five hundred acres. This, at his request, was 
set out to him "betweene Concord & Lancaster bounds, next 
adjoyning to the Indian plantation called Nashobah," and the 
location was confirmed by the Court on May 27, 1668. 

The extent and variety of Daniel's public service at this 
period well merited the additional grant. He must, indeed, 
have been nearly if not quite the busiest man in the colony, 
and the salary of thirty pounds a year, which he received as 
Assistant, can hardly have been an adequate compensation 
for the time he gave to the affairs of the commonwealth. The 
records of the colony show that he was a faithful attendant at 
the sessions of the General Court and at the meetings of the 
Governor and Council.^ No other member was more active. 
We find him engaged on many committees ; to audit the Treas- 
urer's account; "to find out the best way and means to make 
agreement and contract with an honest person to prosecute the 
Indian trade "on the behalf of the state; to treat with the mint 
master "for allowing such an annuall soiiie as may be agreed 
upon as a meete honorarium;" to draw up orders concerning 
the militia; to visit Harvard college and examine the Treas- 
urer's accounts; to determine the differences between Presi- 
dent Dunster and Thomas Danforth; even to lay out land 
grants in the Paucatuck region. These are only a few out of 
many that might be named. More important were designa- 
tions to hold the County Courts, as for Norfolk County 
in 1660, for Suffolk in 1663, and his appointment in 1668 as 
one of the Commissioners of Revenue from imposts. In the 
larger aflfairs of State, his clear judgement and sagacious coun- 

' Council meetings appear to have been held at all hours. In Prov. Papers of N. 
H., i, 273, is printed a letter from Governor Bellingham, July 12, 1665, in which he 
refers to expediting a messenger to Cambridge to call Gookin, Danforth and others 
to meet at the Governor's house in Boston, "by sixe of the clocke this morning." 



EXTENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE 115 

sel were highly valued and often called in requisition. When- 
ever "uncomfortable differences" arose between the towns, or 
with other colonies, his name was almost certain to be placed 
upon, and often at the head of, the Committee deputed to deal 
therewith. Such assignments were not infrequent and some- 
times involved considerable labour, as well as the exercise of 
great pains and discrimination. 

Withal he had his routine business as a magistrate to attend 
to, besides which his farms had to be looked after and the trade 
with the Maryland and Virginia plantations. ^ Still he found 
time to do his full duty as Captain of the Cambridge trained 
band; to attend religious services and lectures with punctil- 
ious regularity; to take his part in catechising the youth of 
Cambridge; to serve the town as Selectman from 1660 to 
1672; to perform the many neighborly offices that necessarily 
entered largely into the life of one dwelling in a small and 
remote community. Nor is the tale yet told. As Superin- 
tendent of the Praying Indians he had to spend much of his time 
in journeys through the wilderness to their several settlements, 
besides listening to their appeals when they called upon him 
in Cambridge (as they appear to have done rather frequently), 
and accompanying Eliot when he went among them to preach. 
And as employment for his leisure hours he projected and 
steadily worked upon a history of the colony, — of which, 
unfortunately, but a small fragment has survived. 

Only one instance is recorded of Daniel's declination of 
a public trust. The publication, in 1662, of some religious 
tracts which the ministers thought too liberal, resulted in an 
order by the General Court that no books should be printed 
in future unless approved by two official licensers. Daniel 
Gookin and the Rev. Jonathan Mitchell were appointed, but 
refused to act. As the court had adjourned, and no print- 
ing could be done without authorization by the licensers, the 
presses had to stand idle until the Court convened in May, 

^He may perhaps have made a voyage to Virginia in 1664. By the General 
Court on May 18, "Capt. Daniel Gookin is hereby desired & appointed to keepe the 
Courts in Portsmouth or Dover & Yorke, for this year, if he come home & be vfell," 
but he does not appear to have served. 



ii6 DISPUTE WITH THE ANABAPTISTS 

1663, when it was "ordered that the Printing Presse be at Hb- 
erty as formerly till this court shall take further order, and the 
late order is hereby repealed." 

A glimpse of Daniel in still another capacity is afforded by 
an account in a manuscript found among the Danforth papers 
of a "public dispute" with the Anabaptists, "that it might be 
determined whether they were erroneous or not."^ Six emi- 
nent clergymen were "nominated to manage the dispute on the 
Pedobaptist side, which was appointed to be April 14, 1668, 
in the meeting house in Boston at 9 o'clock in the morning. 
But lest these six learned clergymen should not be a match 
for a few illiterate Baptists, the governour and magistrates were 
requested to meet with them," and so Daniel Gookin's name 
appears in the list of debaters. It was an animated session, in 
which the Baptists were worsted, not being able to convince 
their opponents. In July some of them were imprisoned for 
heresy, the warrant for their arrest being signed by Daniel 
Gookin and five others. 

iMass. Hist. Soc. Colls. 2 Ser. viii, iii. 





CHAPTER XIII 

HE public documents that came from Daniel 
Gookin's hand testify in no uncertain manner to 
his qualifications for handling important affairs 
of State. The letter in which he opened negotia- 
tions with Ferdinando Gorges looking toward the 
purchase of his claim to the province of Maine, 
displays ability that any diplomat might envy. 
Not only had troublesome questions of jurisdiction grown out 
of the uncertainty as to the boundary between Maine and Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, but the earlier date of the Massachusetts charter 
and the virtual abandonment of the northern province by the 
elder Gorges made complications that became more and more 
embarrassing as time went on without a settlement being 
effected. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO FERDINANDO GORGES ^ 

Though I am a stranger unto yo" in person, yet tis not improbable 
that you have heard of my name, because my father who bore the same 
name was intimately acquainted with your honoured p'decessor S"" Ferdin- 
ando Gorges, and was interested with him in his New England affaires, 
as some writeings concerning that matter under S"' Ferdenando's hand 
and seale in my possession do evince, and tis like the same may be w"* 
your selfe. 

The providence of God having sett the bounds of my habitation in 
New England, where I have resided neare twenty yeares and a good part 
of that time imployed in publique affaires and so have had more opertu- 
nity to understand some things relating to your selfe in your claime to the 

'Br. Record Office, Col. Papers, xvii, No. 57. 

117 



ii8 LETTER TO FERDINANDO GORGES 

province of Maine, as also the claime made to the same by the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts, and now things grow up to a greater diference than for- 
merly betwene them and you: being studious of peace and unity in waies 
of righteousness among the English in this wilderness I have p'^sumed to 
set before you a few considerations touching this affaire wherein my desire 
is to intend yo' honno' and benefitt as well as the publique good before 
hinted. 

S' tis not unknowne to you (I conceive) how the body of the people 
in that province several years since (being wearied with anarchy among 
themselves) made their earnest application unto the jurisdiction of the 
Bay for protection and government, and accordingly were accepted upon 
articles, submitting and swearing fidelity to the same, which agreement 
was to continue inviolable untill the supreme power in England did 
release them, after w"** time the extent of the line of the Massachusetts 
pattent to the N. E. (never before stated) did according to the judgment 
of good artists therein imployd, take in the greatest part if not all yo"^ 
province; under w"*" settlement those parts have remained in a quiet pos- 
ture for sundry yeares, but of late they have been interupted upon p'^tence 
of commission for your selfe, the consequences whereof hath tended much 
to the disturbance of the peace and good government of that place, and I 
beleve hath brought but little profitt to yourselves, for the body of the 
people in conscience to their oath and articles still adhere to the gov'ment 
of the Bay, and frequently make their adreses to it for protection and jus- 
tice, and yo" doe not appear to have strength and interest enough to 
compose and satisfy them. The jurisdiction of Massachusetts have not 
been forward to enter into a contest w'^'' you in this matter, finding it difficult 
to rule wel, a remote and divided people, but the frequent solicitations of 
the people in that province urging a performance of covenant hath put them 
upon endevors to p'serve peace and order among them and suprese the 
contrary. And for that end commissioners have been once and againe 
sent and compositions made w"" yours. But p'sently againe broken by 
some among them on p'tence of yo"" authority so that now it is probable 
you will heare, and y* w**" great agravations, that Mr. Jordan is secured, 
the only end whereof is to p''serve publique peace, for some men there 
are in the world who are impatient of any power that will bridle their 
lusts and disorders. 

This being the state of that affaire I pray Sir, consider whether it will 
not be advisable for you not too readily to entertaine prejudice from those 
mens information nor yet countenance them in their actings which I 
assure you are neither for your honour nor profit, but to consult whether 
it be not now for your interest to make some honorable composition with the 
jurisdiction of Massachusetts for y""^ claime which I beleeve they wil com- 
ply withall rather than ingage in a contest with you; and will not this 
more conduce to you"' advantage then a continual exhausting (what you 
can rationaly expect from them if not more) for the support of the govern- 



LETTER TO ROBERT BOYLE 119 

ment there besides the hazard and discouragement of the more sober and 
industrious part of the people do desert the place, which they are ready to 
do as I heare if things remaine as they are, and as for yo"^ propriety in any 
lands possessed and improved you may still retayne y" if you please 
som . . .^ in a letter or imploy some person to deale in it you may 
hav . . . ble . . .^ some of money paid you for your claime. 

S"' I desire you will seriously consider what is here p'^sented which 
you may bee assured is from one that wishes your best good, so desiring 
the Lord God to direct you herein that you may doe that which is most 
for his glory and yo' best good craveing excuse for my boldness with the 
presentiment of my respects and service, I remaine S"' 

Yours to bono' and serve you 

Daniel Gookin 

Cambridge in New England, 
June 25*'' 1663 

This letter, written, as has been said, "with consummate 
skill and ingenuity," might have led to results more speedily 
than it did, but for the interference of the royal commis- 
sioners, who thought to set everything at rest by passing an act 
"for enervating the authority of both the clayming parties" 
and placing the disputed territory directly under that of the 
King. Nevertheless, the controversy dragged on, and little 
progress had been made when, ten years later, the questions at 
issue were described in a letter addressed to the Honourable 
Robert Boyle, the authorship of which may be confidently 
ascribed to Daniel Gookin, though it may be that some of the 
other signers took part in its composition. 

GOVERNOR LEVERETT AND OTHERS TO ROBERT BOYLE 2 

Honourable Sir, 

As an addition to your former kindness, touching the present of masts 
sent from this colony to his Majesty, we are lately informed that you have 
been pleased to speak on our behalf in the ears of his most excellent 
Majesty, our gracious Sovereign, when our adversaries, by their hard 
speeches and false suggestions have laboured to alienate his royal heart 
and affections from us; which favour of yours (to a people that are so 
great strangers to you, and so undeserving your love) calls for gratitude. 
And therefore, should we be silent in our most thankful acknowledgement 
thereof, first unto God, that hath so inclined your heart, and nextly to 

^Torn off with the seal. 

^Life of Boyle, by Thos. Birch, p. 453. 



I20 LETTER TO ROBERT BOYLE 

yourself, as an instrument (and if we may presume to say) an advocate 
for this part of God's poor church in the wilderness, it would render us 
most unworthy of our profession. 

Sir, we need not put you in mind, that the poor church of Christ in 
all ages, even from righteous Abel's time unto this day, hath not wanted 
adversaries: the ancient enmity, which God hath put between the two 
seeds, will never reconcile; that example in Ezra's and Nehemiah's time 
do sufficiently evince this; for although the people of God then had ample 
charters from those great princes, Cyrus and Artaxerxes, yet God was 
pleased, for the trial of his church, and the illustration of his own glory 
(in their salvation) to permit a Sanballat, a Tobiah, and others, falsely to 
accuse that people, to those princes, of disloyalty. Sir, we hear, that our 
adversaries there are plotting and designing against our peace; so much 
the more cause have we to lye in the dust before the Lord, imploring his 
assistance and salvation, as the matter shall require. And also it is our 
duty, not to neglect the use of that little means, that is left us, in order to 
the preservation of our quietness and liberties; among which, this appli- 
cation to yourself, and by you to our most gracious King (whose royal 
heart the Lord hath graciously inclined hitherto to favour our righteous 
cause) is the principal. 

Sir, we hear of several things against us, which we do not particularly 
understand, but so far as is intimated to us, we will make bold here 
briefly to mention them, with our answers to them. 

L Our loyalty is questioned. To this we answer (in all humility, 
not boastingly) that the demonstrations of our loyalty are known to thou- 
sands; particularly I. We never proclaimed or acted in the name of the 
late power in England in his Majesty's absence, as all other remote col- 
onies did. 2. It is known, that in our public prayers, as well as in pri- 
vate families, we pray for our King. 3. When a squadron of his ships, 
under Sir John Harmon, commander, were in the West Indies, streight- 
ened for provisions; we freely and seasonably sent a ship laden with 
provisions for their supply. 4. In that present of a ship laden with 
masts, sent for the supply of his royal navy. Those two last things cost 
this poor colony some thousands of pounds; and we have not heard that 
any of his Majesty's colonies (though far exceeding us in riches) have 
given higher demonstrations of their loyalty. 

II. We are said to be factious in the principles of religion. Answer. 
If Mr. Perkins, and those good old Puritans, in King Edward the Vlth 
and Queen Elizabeth's time, did, in their principles or religion, teach evil 
doctrine (which we conceive no true Protestant will say) then may we be 
rendered such; for our religion and principles are the same for substance 
with those old Christians and reformers called Puritans. 

III. It is said, we are a divided people. We acknowledge it is a 
matter to be greatly bewailed, that the church of God, all the world over 
(by reason of man's weakness and infirmity) doth labour under diversity 



LETTER TO ROBERT BOYLE 121 

of persuasions and apprehensions in matters of religion, and consequently 
do not live in that blessed and sweet unity that God requires: but for our 
parts (some petty differences excepted) we bless God, we have much peace 
and tranquillity in church and state. 

IV. We are charged with carrying it disrespectfully toward his 
Majesty's commissioners. To this we say, that God and man can wit- 
nes for us, that our treatment of them was with civility, according to our 
mean conditions. Indeed, as to yielding obedience unto their mandates, 
which were destructive to our royal charter; as that was contrary to his 
Majesty's instructions and letter sent to us by them, so we had no reason 
to submit to them therein. 

V. We are blamed for a great omission touching baptizing of infants. 
To this we answer, that our principles declared to the world in print 
particularly that of the last synod held here, doth speak our judgments 
to run parallel with other reformed churches, viz. That visible confed- 
erate believers with their seed are subjects of baptism. Indeed in practice 
there hath been some omissions thereof, as to the largest extent, espe- 
cially in some places; but endeavours are daily used to reduce each one 
to the rule. 

VI. We are accused of rigidness to such as differ from us in matters 
of religion. To this we say, that from the first settling this plantation, 
these heterodoxes of Familism, Anabaptism, and of late Quakerism, have 
been looked upon by the godly here, as great errors, and the promo- 
ters of them disturbers of peace and order. Those awful and tremen- 
dous motions of that sort of people in Germany, and elsewhere, hath 
sufficiently alarmed all pious and prudent men to provide a defensative 
against them. Hence, from our first times, laws have been made to 
secure us from that danger; which have, at some times, upon just occa- 
sions, been executed upon some of that sort of people, who have exceeded 
the rules of moderation in matters of practice: but this we may say truly, 
that some peaceable Anabaptists, and some of other sects, who have 
deported themselves quietly, have and do live here, under the protection 
of this government, undisturbedly. Lastly, we are accused for grasping 
after dominions, more than belongs to us, and in particular, for taking in a 
place, called the province of Mayne belonging to Mr. Gorge. To this we 
answer, that our patent (which is of greater antiquity than his) doth take 
in that place; and this may be clearly demonstrated. Again, Mr. Gorge's 
predecessor, finding no profit, deserted the government thereof, and left the 
people under such confusion and disorder, that they were necessitated to 
petition earnestly unto the Massachusetts, to take them under their gov- 
ernment; which they did, at their earnest desire, to prevent their devour- 
ing one another. The truth is, there is no profit or benefit doth accrue to 
our government by their addition, but cumber and trouble. They are 
generally a very poor people, and contribute nothing to us, for the support 
of the government in this place. We may truly say, our main end in 



122 PURCHASE OF THE GORGES CLAIM 

taking them under us hath been a desire to do them good, outwardly and 
inwardly; especially to encourage a pious and able minister to live among 
them, and to preach the Gospel to them, which, through the favour of 
God, hath been in some measure attained. Before they came under us, 
we know not! of one preaching and pious minister in five or six villages 
there, and since (through God's favour) they have been well provided 
therewith. Godly ministers indeed were very shy to go among them to 
live, before they were settled under this government; and at such time, 
when the commissioners took them off from us, and settled some justice 
among themselves, it was but a little while after the commissioners were 
gone, but that people fell into such divisions and confusions, that many of 
their ministers left them; and the people again earnestly sued to us for 
protection and government, finding no benefit (as they alledged) by such, as 
the commissioners had appointed to rule them. Peradventure Mr. Gorge 
and some others may apprehend, they are deprived of honour and profit 
by us in this matter; but, we believe, as it hath, so it will be found, that 
neither the one nor the other would accrue to them, if they had it under 
their power, according to their desire. 

Thus, noble Sir, we have made bold to give you an account (as 
briefly as we could) of what we hear is objected against us, and our 
answer; committing all to your goodness and wisdom, to make use of as 
you shall see occasion. 

So desiring, in all humility, your pardon for our presumption, in giv- 
ing you this trouble, with our cordial prayers unto the God of all mercy and 
grace, to pour upon your head and heart his richest blessings; with our 
most humble service and love to you presented, we take leave, desiring 
always to remain, 

Your honor's 

Most affectionate friends and servants 
John LEVERETT, Governor 
Samuel SYMONDS, Deputy Governor 

Daniel Gookin, Assistant 
Richard Russell 
Thomas Danforth 
John Pynchon 
William Stoughton 
Edward Tyng 

This is a duplicate of a letter sent in December last. Dated in Boston 
in New England, May lo, 1673. 

More than five years were still to elapse before the affair 
was finally adjusted by the purchase of the Gorges claim for 
the sum of ^1250. The final report upon the matter, made 
to the General Court, was drawn up by Daniel Gookin and is 
distinguished by its clear and cogent reasoning. 




St. Augustine's Church, Northbourne, Kent. 




Interior of the old church, Ripple, Kent. 



FINAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL COURT 123 

_ October 8 1678 

A returne of the comitte appointed by the Gen'll Court, to consider 
of the matter p'sented Relating to the province of Mayne.^ 

The principal! question (as we humbly conceve) touching this affaire 
(at p'sent) Is Whether it bee best for the country, to Hold & Reteyne 
their interest in this province, or to sel & Alienate the same unto others? 
In Answer hereunto, the Comittee judge it best for the country to close 
in the Affirmative, for which they humbly offer these Reasons with 
Answers to some objections to the contrary. 

I. was it not this courts order unto our Agents to endevor to pur- 
chas this pattent which being done accordingly it seems unbecoming the 
Gravity wisdome & prudence of this court, to bee yea & nay in a matter 
of such moment & that before experience is made of any inconvence 
thereby 

2 Because our Agents intimate in their lette" that they transacted 
this matter by the concurrent advise of our freinds upon the place; who 
yet continue of the same mind as is certifyd by o"" Agents last letters 
dated in August last. 

3 Because our [enimies] in England particularly M' Mason & M"^ 
Randolph vigorously opposed our Agents in that Bargaine & prevailed so 
farr as to frustrate the first attempt, this act of these o' II willers is an 
Argument of the goodness of the King for us : 

4 In this pattent is granted both Government & Soyle & lands &c 
of which latter there is a considerable quantity, not in propriety of any 
english man, sufficient to countervale the purchase, & their is little reason 
to feare wee shal be deprived y''of, because in all his maties Grants p'^prity 
is reserved. And as for the Gouemment it is not impossible wee may injoy 
the same also by the helpe of God, having to doe therin with so gratious 
a prince. 

5 It may be considered & our long experience hath given us a suffi- 
cient demonstration herof, that the settlement of Good neighbors in this 
territory (w"*" matter lyes wholly in o"' hands) wilbe greatly advantageous 
& conducing to our future quiet, but the settlement thereof by il neigh- 
bours when it is in other mens hands wee cannot p'vent, may prove a great 
trouble and affliction to us, of which wee have had experience in former 
times. 

6 This place is plentifully furnished on the coasts with good har- 
bours for fishing & timber of all sorts both for exportation abroad & use 
at home; which are convencies that may bee Beneficiall to the publike 
good if prudently managed. 

7 The interest y' wee herby have in the Hands of Nantucket & 
Marthas Vineyard w**" a share in the 4 townes on the west of pasquata- 
way, is to bee considered as a matter of waight. more reasons might bee 
added but wee forbear & come to consider som objections. 

'Coll. Maine Hist. Soc. Doc. History of Maine, iv. 382-5. 



124 FINAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL COURT 

Objection I It is probable our ill willers wil not bee wanting in 
their endeavors to incense our gratious King against us & Aleadge y' by 
this Acquisition wee aspire after dominion & enlargement of territory 
wch is not for his hono' or interst to Admitt. 

Answer If his matie should receve any impressions against us in 
this case, and declare disatisfaction — it is then time enough to Returne 
him such Answer as becomes Dutiful and loyall subjects. 

Objection 2 It is a great some of mony to be paid for it & the 
country being greatly impoverished by the late warre, & much in debt are 
not in a good capacity to disburse this sufne without great inconvence. 

Answer I The some of 1250^ starling w'^'* is the some to bee payd 
for it is not as wee conceve so considerable but the country may pay it 
without any great determent especially considering the advantages acrew- 
ing therby before hinted Si. it is very probable y* some purchasers wil 
soone appeare to by some parcell of this land to reimburse the treasury of 
y* country ; Truly we conceve God hath put an oppertunty into C hand 
by this purchase of y' province w"'' wee should thankfully accknowled & 
improve for Gods hono' and the publike good; & not through feare of 
contingent events, decline, this opertunty. 

Ans. 2 : If upon Experience wee find it Burthensome or inconvenient 
for us there is no cause to doubt (as wee judge) but wee may ease o''selves 
without any damage to the country. 

3 objection In this pattent it is required that the Religion profesed 
in the Church of England, and Eclesiastical Gouerment therof shalbe prof- 
fesed setled & established in & through the said province; This injunction 
may prove A Snare to us. 

Answer i The Religion of the Church of England, in the Doctrinall 
part of it conteyned in the 39 Articles, is sound & orthodox & for the 
substance therof is not only professed by all protestants generally but by our 
selves also, hence there is no reason for any good Chtian to thinke it a snare. 

Ans. 2 as for the ecclesiastical Gounment of England, which is estab- 
lished by the lawes of that land. Although in our judgment wee differ from 
it, yet wee must remember wee are prohibited in our charter of the Mas- 
sachusetts, to make any law repugnant to the laws of England, of which 
lawes this is one, therfore may not make any law against it. 

Ans 3 If it should happen that any of his Ma*'" subjects that doe or 
shal herafter live there, should profes & practise in matters of Religion 
According to the church of England, is there not as Good reason for us to 
Admit them, that act therin not against any law made by us, As to permit 
quakers and other perswasions dif. from us, to practise their religion con- 
trary unto our lawes Si. that not in remote parts of the country but in o' 
chiefest towns; They that profes Religion according to the Church of 
England owne Good Sc sound principles in doctrine & are obedient to civil 
order. But the other persuations oppose both. Therfore which are like to 
be the best neighbors & Subjects let Reason Judge. 



FINAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL COURT 125 

Objection 4 There was an inconvenience unto this General Court 
in the number of Deputies Sent from that province in former times which 
have had to great an influence upon our affayres; & yet the people of y* 
province have paid little or nothing to support this Goum* & being few 
& poor are like to do litle for y" future for o' Benefit & therfore wer like 
to bee burthensom rather than benificial. 

I Answer The number of Deputyes in y' County According to reason 
may Sc ought to be limited to a lesser number & according to their ability 
they are obliged to pay taxes as others doe; for now those priviledges 
they had before by Articles are extinct. 

Thus desiring the lord to guide Sz direct the hon*"'" Court in the con- 
clusion that it may bee for Gods honour & publike good we remaine yo' 
Humble servants 

Daniel Gookin Sen 
Bartho Gedney 
William Johnson 
Jo. Wayte 





CHAPTER XIV 

N nothing else do the sterling traits of Daniel 
Gookin's character stand forth more saliently 
than in his work among the Indians of Massa- 
chusetts. The story of that work is the record 
of long years of painstaking effort and self-sacri- 
ficing devotion ; of steady persistence in the face 
of difficulties and discouragements; of unwaver- 
ing determination, matched only by that of his friend and 
associate, the saintly Eliot, It was work that called for never- 
failing tact, firmness tempered by discretion, patience, and 
kindly sympathy. To these qualities, possessed in full measure 
by both Eliot and Gookin, the success that attended their 
labours may be ascribed. Another essential qualification was 
abundance of "the judgement of Charity," to quote Daniel's 
own phrase. "For my own part, I have no doubt, but am 
fully satisfied," were his words in speaking of the Indian con- 
verts, "that divers of them do fear God and are true believers; 
but yet I will not deny but that there may be some of them 
hypocrites, that profess religion, and yet are not sound hearted. 
But things that are secret belong to God; and things that are 
revealed, unto us and our children." ^ 

"Things that are secret belong to God !" In this pregnant 
expression is revealed the attitude of mind with which he 
regarded his fellow men. And what eloquent testimony it 
bears to the loftiness of his soul 1 



^Hist. Collections of the Ind. in New Eng., p. 183. 

126 



WORK AMONG THE INDIANS 127 

Daniel's interest in the red men was awakened very soon 
after his removal to Massachusetts, and may not improbably 
have had its inception during his earlier experiences in Vir- 
ginia, When he took up his abode in Roxbury, Eliot was 
deep in his study of the Indian language, with the assistance of 
one Job Nesutan, "a very good linguist in the English tongue," 
whom he hired to live in his family and act as his teacher, and 
who, later on, became his assistant in translating the Bible and 
other books. The motives that impelled the Apostle to under- 
take the conversion and civilization of the Indians have been 
set forth by Daniel, and in so doing it is safe to say that his 
own motives are also presented. 

"In this work," he wrote, "did this good man industriously 
travail sundry years, without any external encouragement, from 
men I mean, as to the receiving any salary or reward. Indeed 
verbal encouragements, and the presence of divers persons at 
his lectures, he wanted not. The truth is, Mr. Eliot engaged 
in this great work of preaching unto the Indians upon a very 
pure and sincere account: for I being his neighbour and inti- 
mate friend, at the time when he first attempted this enter- 
prise, he was pleased to communicate unto me his design, and 
the motives that induced him thereunto; which, as I remem- 
ber, were principally these three. 

" First, the Glory of God, in the conversion of some of 
these poor, desolate souls. 

"Secondly, his compassion and ardent affection to them, 
as of mankind in their great blindness and ignorance. 

"Thirdly, and not the least, to endeavour, so far as in him 
lay the accomplishment and fulfilling the covenant and prom- 
ise, that New England people had made unto their King, when 
he granted them their patent or charter, viz: that one principal 
end of their going to plant these countries, was to commu- 
nicate the gospel unto the native Indians." 

By the autumn of 1646 Eliot had made such progress in 
his studies "that he adventured to make beginning to preach 
the glad tidings of salvation" to the Indians, in their own 
tongue. His first lecture without the aid of an interpreter 
was made on October 28, at"Nonantum, near Watertown mill, 



128 ELIOT'S COADJUTOR 

upon the south side of the Charles river, about four or five 
miles from his own house; where lived at that time Waban, 
one of their principal men, and some Indians with him." In 
his account of this memorable occasion, Eliot states that he 
was accompanied by "three others," one of whom was in all 
probability his friend Gookin. Certain it is that Daniel was 
in the habit of attending these discourses, which were contin- 
ued for several years until the Indians removed to Natick, for 
he relates an incident about an Indian convert named Hia- 
coomes, told him by the Rev. Thomas Mayhew, Jr., "in travel- 
ling on foot between Watertown lecture and Cambridge, the 
Indian that was the principal person concerned being with 
him." This was either in 1649 or early in 1650. 

Being away from the colony a good deal during the earlier 
years of his residence in Cambridge, it is likely that Captain 
Gookin was drawn into the Indian work gradually. By the 
year 1656 the settlements, or as they were denominated "pray- 
ing towns," six in number, of the Indians who had made 
profession of Christianity and formally submitted to the gov- 
ernment of Massachusetts, had become so well established that 
the General Court found it desirable to appoint and empower 
"one of the English magistrates to join with the chief of their 
rulers, and keep a higher Court among them; extending the 
power of this court to the latitude of a county court among 
the English; from the jurisdiction whereof nothing for good 
order and government civil or criminal is excepted, but appeals, 
life, limb, banishment and cases of divorce." Obviously the 
fittest of the Magistrates for this position was Eliot's chosen 
associate and coadjutor, already, for his interest in their wel- 
fare and in fostering their education, known as the Indians' 
friend. Daniel was accordingly appointed the first ruler, or 
Superintendent, of the Praying Indians. This was in 1656, not 
long after his return from England, and while he was engaged 
upon the bootless mission for the colonization of Jamaica. 
He entered upon his duties with zeal, but being called back 
to England the next year, Major General Humphrey Ather- 
ton of Dorchester was appointed in his stead. Though Daniel 
returned in the summer of 1660, General Atherton continued 



IN CHARGE OF PRAYING INDIANS 129 

to serve until the following year, when he was taken ill and 
died. Then, on November 27, 1661, "in answer to the petition 
of M"" John Eliot in behalf of the Indians," Captain Gookin 
was again appointed "to keep Courts amongst" them. In 
this position he continued until the abrogation of the Charter 
Government, in 1686. As interpreted by this faithful servant 
of the commonwealth, the duties imposed were not light. He 
has told us himself in what they consisted. After reciting the 
orders passed by the General Court, "For the better ordering 
and governing the Indians subject to us, especially those of 
Natick, Punkapaog, &c.," and the requirement that he should 
once a year make known to them "such necessary and whole- 
some laws, which are in force, and may be made from time to 
time, to reduce them to civility of life," and to determine all 
causes arising thereunder, except a few of which cognizance 
was reserved to the General Court, he proceeds:^ 

"Besides the work above mentioned, transacted by the 
English magistrate and his assistants, there are sundry other 
things done by him in order to their good; as the mak- 
ing of orders, and giving instructions and directions, backed 
with penalties, for promoting and practising morality, civil- 
ity, industry, and diligence in their particular callings: for 
idleness and improvidence are the Indians' great sin, and is a 
kind of second nature to them, which by good example and 
wholesome laws, gradually applied, with God's blessing may 
be rooted out. 

"Likewise it is the care of this English magistrate, intrusted 
with this affair, to make and execute good orders for keeping 
holy the sabbath day; and that the people do attend the public 
worship of God; and that schools for the education of youth 
be settled and continued among them; and to provide that the 
Indian teachers 2 and rulers have some small encouragement 

' Hist. Collections of tlie Ind. in New Eng., chap. VI. 

^Further on he says : "Their teachers are generally chosen from among them- 
selves — except some few English teachers — of the most pious and able men among 
them. If these did not supply, they would generally be destitute: for the learned 
English young men do not hitherto incline or endeavour to fit themselves for that serv- 
ice, by learning the Indian language. Possibly the reasons may be : First, the 
difficulty to attain that speech. Secondly, little encouragement while they prepare 



130 CAPTAIN GOOKIN'S HONORARIUM 

distributed among them, according to the people's abihty, 
which is done out of the tenths of their yearly increase of all 
sorts of grain and pulse. This tithe is set apart at the ingath- 
ering and threshing of their grain, and brought into one place 
in each town, as due unto the Lord ; and is disposed of by 
order of the Court, for support of those that attend public 
service in both orders, in that place proportionably. 

"Besides the particulars above mentioned, there are sundry 
other things, that fall under the consideration of the English 
magistrate, that have great influence into their religious con- 
cern, and hath frequent occasions and opportunities to press 
christian exhortations upon them for their soul's good." 

After passing to some other matters, he adds: "Before we 
conclude this chapter, it may not be impertinent for the better 
clearing of things, to remark, that the English magistrate 
attending this service among the Indians, never had any com- 
pensation for his travail and expenses in this kind, either from 
Indians or English in New England; though it is well known, 
he hath, as well as their teacher, Mr. Eliot, had many weary 
journies among them yearly, and under sundry trials, when he 
is forced to lodge in their woods and wigwams.^ But the 
Honourable Corporation at London, for propagating the gos- 
pel among the Indians in New England, have been pleased of 
late years, by the hands of their delegates, the honoured Com- 
missioners of the united colonies in New England, to confer 
upon him out of the publick stock, at first fifteen pounds, now 
twenty pounds. New England money, per annum, and as an 
honorarium for his service among the praying Indians. This is 

for it. Thirdly, tlie difficulty in the practice of such a calling among them, by reason of 
the poverty and barbarity, which cannot be grappled with, unless the person be very 
much mortified, self-denying and of a publick spirit, seeking greatly God's glory; 
and these are rare qualifications in young men. It is but one of a hundred that is so 
endowed." 

^In another place he says: "I have often lodged in their wigwams; and have 
found tiiem as warm as the best English houses. In their wigwams they make a kind 
of couch or mattresses, firm and strong, raised about a foot high from the earth ; first 
covered with boards that they split out of trees ; and upon the boards they spread 
mats generally and sometimes bear skins and deer skins. These are large enough for 
three or four persons to lodge upon : and one may either draw nearer or keep at a 
more distance from the heat of the fire, as they please ; for their mattresses are six or 
eight feet broad." 



GENEROUS COMMENDATION 131 

spoken here to declare, that those that labour in this harvest, 
are first to endeavour to learn perfectly that first lesson in 
Christ's school, I mean self denial. Secondly, to keepe the 
eye of faith fixed upon God, whose work it is, who will never 
fail to recompense either here or hereafter, all that work in 
his harvest. Indeed if he please to employ and accept us in 
Christ Jesus, it is a sufficient reward. Lastly, let not any one 
be so uncharitable, as to think that what is here mentioned, is 
to reflect upon any, or to repine at God's bounty in the por- 
tion allotted, being it is far more than was expected. When 
the work was engaged in and undertaken, the principles and 
motions thereunto were, through grace, of higher alloy than 
gold, yea than fine gold." 

Small as was this honorarium, not much, if any, more than 
enough to defray the expenses to which he was put, and per- 
haps inadequate for his reinbursement, there is some reason 
to believe that without it he would not have been able to con- 
tinue the work. In 1663 the Corporation for Propagating the 
Gospel among the Indians in New England — which had been 
formed in 1650 by philanthropic men in England who had 
been stirred by the accounts of the labours of Eliot and 
Mayhew, — being straightened in means, desired that the 
appropriation formerly made by the Commissioners might 
"be forborne; unlesse it be thought . . . that some unavoid- 
able prejudice might happen to the work for the want therof.''^ 
The Commissioners, in their reply, stated they found Captain 
Gookin's labours among the Indians "of much use and benefit 
to them; and therefore could not but desire him to go on in 
that worke."2 Eliot's letter to the Commissioners is pre- 
served in the Connecticut Archives.^ It bears date August 
25, 1664. In it he says: 

"Because of what was written by the Honorable Corporation of lay- 
ing aside Capt. Gookin in this worke, I was bold to request of them his 
continuance and incouragem*, presenting my reasons, w"'' I thank God and 
them were so accepted as that they doe approve both of his labour and 

^Hazard's Hist. Colls., ii, 470. 

^Ibid., ii, 474. 

^Ecclesiastical Papers, vol. i, Doc. loa. 



132 JOURNEY TO THE NIPMUCK COUNTRY 

incouragem*, w'*" they leave to yourselves for the measure; and my humble 
request is that it may be hono'"able. If I thought it were needful, I could 
p'^sent you w'*' reasons w'^'' I doubt not but would be accepted by you. 
This is one, that doth necessarily bring much resort to his house, and of 
such as canot in comon civility and humanity be sent away w^'out enter" 
tainmen^ Which I intreat your prudent consideration of. 

• • • 

"The Hon'able Corporation doe require of me to give them intima- 
tion how a greater revennue might be best imployed in this work: now 
my opinion hath allways bene, y* the sending forth and supporting fitting 
instrum" is a necessary and I conceive, the best way, to promote this 
worke; and you see y* Divine Providence hath ripened more feilds 
toward this harvest, w"^ call for more labourers, and will multiply the 
labours of such as he therein imployed; w'^'' affords another reason of an 
honorable incouragm* to Capt. Gookin, whose busynesse doth much 
inlarge, had he wherew*'' to afford answerable attendance." 

In 1668 the Corporation's revenue, "because of losses in 
the great London fire," had fallen so low that the Commission- 
ers were requested "to abate all charge that is not essentiall to 
the being of this good worke." Answering this, the Commis- 
sioners said in their reply: 

"Nor doe wee understand that your caution therein respects Captain 
Gookin, whose great labour and good success therein is of such use that if 
not attended by him must bee by some other or the want thereof wilbee 
soon found." 

The account given by Daniel of a journey which he and 
Eliot took to visit seven "new praying towns in the Nip- 
muck country," affords a life-like picture of these devoted men 
engaged in the work they had so much at heart. 

"The Indians of some of these towns began to hearken 
unto the gospel about three years since, or thereabouts. In 
July 1673, Mr. Eliot and myself made a journey to visit some 
of them, and encourage and exhort them to proceed in the 
ways of God. 

"This year again, on the 14th of September last, 1674, we 
both took another journey. Our design was to travel further 
among them, and to confirm their souls in the christian 
religion, and to settle teachers in every town, and to establish 



AT CHABANAKONGKOMUN 133 

civil government among them, as in other praying towns. 
We took with us five or six godly persons who we intended 
to present unto them for ministers. 

"The first of these new praying towns is Manchage,^ which 
lieth to the westward of Nipmuck river, ahout eight miles; 
and is from Hassanamesitt,^ west and by south, about ten miles; 
and it is from Boston about fifty miles, on the same rhumb 
. . . For this place we appointed Waabesktamin, a hopeful 
young man, for their minister . . . 

"Above five miles distant from hence is a second town 
called Chabanakongkomun^ ... Mr, Eliot preached unto 
this people, and we prayde and sung psalms with them, and 
they were exhorted by us to stand steadfast in the faith. A 
part of one night we spent in discoursing with them, touching 
matters of religion and civil order. The teacher Joseph and 
the constable James went with us unto the next town which is 
called Maanexit^ . . . The inhabitants are about twenty fami- 
lies, and, as we compute, one hundred souls. Mr. Eliot 
preached unto this people out of the xxiv"' Ps. 7 to the end: 
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting 
doors, and the king of glory shall come in &c. After sermon was 
ended, we presented unto them John Moqua, a pious and 
sober person there present, for their present minister, which 
they thankfully accepted. Then their teacher named, and set, 
and rehearsed, a suitable psalm, which being sung, and a con- 
clusion with prayer, they were exhorted, both the teacher to 
be diligent and faithful, and to take care of the flock, whereof 
the Holy Ghost had made him overseer, and the people also 
to give obedience and subjection to him in the Lord." 

"Being straightened for time," they passed by the fourth 
village, and proceeded to Wabquissit, in the southwest corner 
of what is now Woodstock, Connecticut. 

"We came thither late in the evening, upon the 15th of 
September and took up our quarters at the sagamore's wig- 
wam, who was not at home: but his squaw courteously admit- 

1 Oxford. 

^Grafton. 

'Dudley. 

^The northeast part of Woodstock, Conn. 



134 AT WABQUISSIT 

ted us, and provided liberally, in their way, for the Indians that 
accompanied us. This sagamore inclines to religion, and keeps 
the meeting on sabbath days at his house, which is spacious, 
about sixty feet in length, and twenty feet in width. . . . 

"We being at Wabquissit, at the sagamore's wigwam, divers 
of the principal people that were at home came to us, with 
whom we spent a good part of the night in prayer, sing- 
ing psalms, and exhortations. There was a person among 
them, who sitting mute a great space, at last spake to this 
effect: That he was agent for Unkas, sachem of Mohegan 
who challenged right to, and dominion over, this people of 
Wabquissit and said he, Unkas is not well pleased, that the 
English should pass over Mohegan river, to call his Indians 
to pray to God. 

"Unto which speech Mr. Eliot first answered, that it was 
his work to call upon all men every where, as he had oppor- 
tunity, especially the Indians, to repent and embrace the gos- 
pel; but he did not meddle with civil right or jurisdiction. 

"When he had done speaking, then I declared to him, and 
desired him to inform Unkas what I said, that Wabquissit 
was within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and that the gov- 
ernment of that people did belong to them; and that they do 
look upon themselves concerned to promote the good of all 
people within their limits, especially if they embraced Christi- 
anity. Yet it was not hereby intended to abridge the Indian 
sachems of their just and ancient right over the Indians, in 
respect of paying tribute or any other dues. But the main 
design of the English was to bring them to the good know- 
ledge of God in Christ Jesus; and to suppress among them 
those sins of drunkenness, idolatry, powowing or witchcraft, 
whoredom, murder, and like sins. As for the English, they 
had taken no tribute from them, nor taxed them with any 
thing of that kind. 

"Upon the i6th day of September, being at Wabquissit, as 
soon as the people were come together, Mr. Eliot first prayed, 
and then preached to them in their own language out of Mat. 
vi. 33. First seek the kingdom of heaven, and the righteousness thereof, 
and all other things shall be added unto you. Their teacher Samp- 



COURTS HELD AMONG THE INDIANS 135 

son first reading and setting the cxix Ps. ist part, which was 
sung. The exercise was concluded with prayer. 

"Then I began a court among the Indians. And first I 
approved their teacher Sampson, and their constable Black 
James; giving each of them a charge to be diligent and faith- 
ful in their places. Also I exhorted the people to yield 
obedience to the gospel of Christ and to those set in order 
there. Then published a warrant or order, that I had pre- 
pared, empowering the constable to suppress drunkenness, 
sabbath breaking, especially powowing and idolatry. And 
after warning given, to apprehend all delinquents, and bring 
them before authority, to answer for their misdoings; the 
smaller faults to bring before Wattascompanum, ruler of the 
Nipmuck country; for idolatry and powowing to bring them 
before me: So we took leave of this people of Wabquissit, 
and about eleven o'clock returned back to Maanexit and 
Chabanakongkomun, where we lodged this night. 

"We took leave of the christian Indians at Chabanakong- 
komun, and took our journey, 17th of the seventh month, by 
Manchage, to Pakachoog; which lieth from Manchage, north 
west, about twelve miles. We arrived there about noon. This 
village lieth about three miles south from the new road way 
that leadeth from Boston to Connecticut; about eighteen miles, 
west southerly, from Marlborough ; and from Boston about 
forty four miles. It consists of about twenty families and 
hath about one hundred souls therein. This town is seated 
upon a fertile hilh and is denominated from a delicate spring 
of water that is there. We repaired to the sagamore's house, 
called John, alias Horowanninit, who kindly entertained us. 
... As soon as the people could be got together, Mr. Eliot 
preached unto them ; and they attended reverently. Their 
teacher, named James Speen, being present, read and set the 
tune of a psalm, that was sung affectionately. Then was the 
whole duty concluded with prayer. 

" After some short respite, a court was kept among them, 
My chief assistant was Wattascompanum, ruler of the Nip- 

' Probably the hill called Boggachoag, situated partly in Worcester and partly 
in Ward, 



136 ARROGANCE OF COLONISTS 

muck Indians, a grave and pious man, of the chief sachem's 
blood of the Nipmuck country. He resides at Hassanamesitt; 
but by former appointment, calleth here, together with some 
others. The principal matter done at this court, was first to 
constitute John and Solomon to be rulers of this people and 
co-ordinate in power, clothed with the authority of the English 
government, which they accepted: also to allow and approve 
James Speen for their minister. . . . 

"After this business was over, it being night before we had 
finished the court, there was an Indian present, which came 
into the wigwam about an hour before. He was belonging to 
Weshakim or Nashaway. This Indian desired liberty to 
speak; which being admitted, he made a speech with much 
affection and gravity to this effect: To declare that he belonged 
to Washakim near Nashaway; and that he was desirously will- 
ing, as well as some others of his people, to pray to God; but 
that there were sundry of that people very wicked and much 
addicted to drunkennesss, and thereby many disorders were 
committed among them; and therefore he earnestly impor- 
tuned me, that I would put forth power to help in that case, 
to suppress the sin of drunkenness. Then I asked him, 
whether he would take upon him the office of a constable, and 
I would give him power to apprehend drunkards, and take 
away their strong drink from them, and bring the delinquent 
before me to receive punishment. His answer was, that he 
would first speak with his friends, and if they chose him, and 
strengthened his hand in the work, then he would come to me 
for a black staf? and power. 1 asked him whether he were 
willing to have Jethro to go and preach to them: to which he 
readily complied, and seemed joyful thereat. After this dis- 
course, we concluded with singing a psalm and prayer; and so 
retired to rest. And the next morning early, being September 
the 1 8th, we took our leave of the Indians, and passed to 
Marlborough; and from thence returned to our own habita- 
tions." 

At the time these words were written, in November, 1674, 
Daniel estimated the number of Indian conv^erts to be no less 
than eleven hundred souls. The greatest obstacles against 



A SLANDEROUS REPORT 137 

which Eliot and Gookin had to contend arose even more from 
the arrogance and cupidity of their fellow colonists than from 
the savagery and intractability of the Indians. "I am not 
ignorant," Daniel wrote, "that there are some persons, both 
in Old and New England, that have less thoughts of this work, 
and are very prone to speak diminutively thereof." When 
Major Gibbons was sent against the Narragansetts, in 1645, 
he was instructed "to have due regard to the distance which 
is to be observed betwixt Christians and Barbarians, as well 
in wars as in other negotiations." By the common people 
the Indians were generally regarded with mingled contempt 
and fear. Insolent and even brutal treatment by the whites 
was far too frequent. And, to quote Daniel Gookin's words, 
"though all strong drink is strictly prohibited to be sold to 
any Indian in the Massachusetts colony, upon the penalty 
of forty shillings a pint; yet some ill-disposed people, for 
filthy lucre's sake, do sell unto the Indians secretly, though 
the Indians will rarely discover their evil merchants — they 
do rather suffer whipping or fine than tell. Hereby they are 
made drunk very often ; and being drunk, are many times 
outrageous and mad, fighting with and killing one another, yea 
sometimes their own relations." In another place he says: "I 
have often seriously considered what course to take, to restrain 
this beastly sin of drunkenness among them ; but hitherto 
cannot reach it. For if it were possible, as it is not, to prevent 
the English selling them strong drink; yet having a native 
liberty to plant orchards and sow grain, as barley and the like, 
of which they may and do make strong drink that doth inebri- 
ate them: so that nothing can overcome this exorbitancy, 
but the sovereign grace of God in Christ; which is the only 
antidote to prevent and mortify the poison of sin." 

Although the noble and disinterested character of Daniel 
Gookin's work among the Indian converts committed to his 
charge was appreciated at its true worth by the principal men 
of the colony, among the less intelligent of the people slander- 
ous tongues were not wanting to defame him when anything 
occurred to awaken the fear and hatred with which many of 
them regarded their savage neighbors. In the spring of 1671, 



138 LETTER TO THOMAS PRINCE 

when apprehension was caused by the threatening attitude of 
King Philip, a report was circulated that the testimony given 
by an Indian at Plymouth implicated Daniel as having used 
words to inflame the truculent chief toward the people of that 
colony. The suggestion that this testimony was given out 
by the Plymouth authorities led Daniel to address a spirited 
letter to Thomas Prince. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO GOVERNOR PRINCE^ 

Honoured Sir, 

I understand, by a paper brought hither by Mr, Southworth, (being a 
copy of some Indian testimony left upon record there), wherein I am 
accused for speaking words to a Natick Indian, tending to animate Philip 
and his Indians against you. Sir, I look upon it favoring of as little charity 
as justice, to receive, record, and publish Indian reports, tending to the 
infamy of any christian man, much more a person in public place, with- 
out any other demonstration than such figment and falsehood as usually 
accompany the Indians' tales. I charge no person with doing this thing; 
neither do I desire to know who it is; the Lord forgive him or them as I 
do, that have been the inventors or fomentors of such a false and reproach- 
ful scandal. 

Sir, let me say to you in the words of truth and soberness, and upon 
the fidelity of a christian, and in the presence of God, before whom all 
things are naked and open, that such a thing never entered into my heart, 
much less into my lips; neither did I, to my remembrance, either see or 
speak with any Natick Indian for several months before I heard of this 
report; nor ever did I speak or lisp to any Indian of Natick, or other, the 
least word about the business, since first I heard of those differences 
between your colony and the Indians. At the court of assistants, March 
sitting last, at the time when your letter came, and the court considered of 
it, my own conscience, and others present there, can witness how for- 
ward I was to strengthen your hands in that matter; but first to try all 
ways of prudence to issue your controversy : but in case the Indians be not 
reduced to order, then to give forth our utmost assistance, as the case should 
require. And of this, both yourself and all others may rest assured, that 
this report is a devised thing; and I may say of it as Nehemiah, (vid. 
Nehemiahvi, 8.) that there is no such thing, but the authors of it have 
feigned it out of their own heart, to this end my hands might be weak- 
ened in the work God hath committed to me: but I trust in God, he will 
disappoint satan, and do my duty. 

Sir, thus much I thought expedient to write unto you about this mat- 
ter; not that I stand in need of an apology, for my innocency is to me a 

^Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Ser. i, vi, 198, 199. 



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GOVERNOR PRINCE'S REPLY 139 

sufficient shield in that respect; but if I should be altogether silent, it 
might be interpreted that I am guilty. Sir, I trust yourself and other your 
magistrates will put on such christian charity as not to credit such reports; 
but I am not unwilling this should be searched to the bottom, and see my 
accusers face to face and not to shun any scrutiny therein. 

Thus desiring to present my due respects to yourself, and the rest of 
the magistrates, I remain 

Your assured loving friend 

Daniel Gookin 

Cambridge, the I2th of April, 1671. 

The falsity of the accusation is shown by Governor Prince's 
reply, which shows also that he held his correspondent in high 
esteem. 

GOVERNOR PRINCE TO DANIEL GOOKIN 
Honored Sir, 

Yours of 14th instant I received yesterday, by which I perceive you 
are much troubled about a copy of an Indian testimony by Mr. Southworth 
to Boston; not because we took it for truth, but that we might know 
whether there were truth in it or not, (reports being indeed very false, not 
only among Indians but many English also), which, for aught I yet see, 
might lawfully be done, without the least impeachment or diminution to 
charity or justice to any christian man, though in place. But whereas 
you please to charge us with receiving, recording, and publishing such 
falsehoods to your infamy; Sir, I do assure you, in a word of truth, there 
is nor was not any such thing; and therefore I might say the charge is 
wanting in charity, justice, and truth also. And whereas it is said you 
should speak words to animate Philip and his Indians against us; it is 
some mistake or misrepresentation, for that paper spoke it not. That 
spake of not fi^htin^ with Indians about horses and hogs, but as matters too 
low to shed blood, and verily, Sir, we think so too ; and therefore advised 
them to keep on the north side of the line, and not go to Philip to fight; 
but if any did go, and were killed, they should keep an account of them, 
for what end I know not. The last words about keeping an account are 
to me enigmatical; but in the whole, not one word of animating Philip and 
his Indians to fight against us; and therefore that report cannot be ration- 
ally fathered upon that paper. For your readiness, with the rest of the 
honoured magistrates, to strengthen our weakness in case of need, we do 
and shall acknowledge it as a signal token of your brotherly love and 
care for us : and your sending messengers to see the ground or cause 
of all their hostile preparations, a high experiment of christian prudence, 
he was acceptable to us, and owned of the Lord also, by the good success 
most pleased to give to their endeavours and travel; who have, I hope, 
so fully informed not only the honourable court that sent them, but all 
others, that any scruples or jealousies on our part needlessly to interrupt 



I40 HOSTILITIES AVERTED 

the peace of the country, is, by that prudent act of yours, removed. 
And truly, Sir, what was mentioned in that note, was never so received 
by us; but upon your disowning it, we should readily reject it as a 
false report, without any of those several kinds of asseverations you 
please to express. 

Sir, I hope you will still retain a charitable opinion of us, and your 
good affection towards us, notwithstanding what weakness you may appre- 
hend in us. That must be owned on all hands to be a real truth, in many 
things we offend all, and need another manner of covering for our best 
actions from the pure eyes of the eternal Judge than our own righteous- 
ness, even the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whose 
grace I unfeignedly commend you and rest. 

Sir, your friend and servant, 
Plymouth, this 26th of April, 1671 THOMAS PRINCE 

Endorsed : 

These for his very good friend captain 
Daniel Gookin, at Cambridge, to be 
presented. 

Before this letter was written the trouble with Philip had 
been averted, and not until four years later did open hostilities 
begin between him and the white men. 




CHAPTER XV 





1 



HE outbreak, on June 24, 1675, of the carnival 
of burning, pillage, and carnage generally known 
as King Philip's War, brought new and arduous 
duties upon the Superintendent of the Praying 
Indians, and for some years the work he had car- 
ried on with the Apostle Eliot was grievously 
interrupted. 

Warning of the impending conflict was first given by one 
of the Christian Indians to Daniel Gookin, who relates that 
"About this time the beginning of April, Waban,i the princi- 
pal Ruler of the praying Indians living at Natick, came to one 
of the magistrates on purpose and imformed him that he had 
ground to fear that Sachem Philip and other Indians his con- 
federates, intended some mischief shortly to the English and 
Christian Indians. Again, in May, about six weeks before the 
war began, he came again and renewed the same. Others 
also of the Christian Indians did speak the same thing, and 
that when the woods were grown thick with green trees then 
it was likely to appear, earnestly desiring that care might be 
had and means used for prevention, at least for preparation for 
such a thing; and a month after the war began." 2 

Serenely confident that one white man was a match for ten 



'Elsewhere described by Daniel as "a person of great prudence and piety." 
He was then "above seventy years of age." 

-History of the Christian Indians. Coll. Am. Antiq. Soc. ii, 440, 441. All of 
the words of Daniel Gookin quoted in this chapter and the next are taken from this 
source. 

141 



142 DEFENSIVE MEASURES URGED 

Indians, little apprehension seems to have been awakened by 
these repeated warnings. In vain did Daniel Gookin urge 
the defensive measures of which he speaks in the following 
words: 

"The situation of those towns was such that the Indians 
in them might have been improved as a wall of defence about 
the greatest part of the colony of Massachusetts; for the first 
named of those villages bordered upon the Merrimack river, 
and the rest in order about twelve or fourteen miles asunder, 
including most of the frontiers. And had the suggestions and 
importunate solicitations of some persons., who had knowledge and 
experience of the fidelity and integrity of the Praying Indians been 
attended and practiced in the beginning of the war, many and 
great mischiefs might have been (according to reason) pre- 
vented; for most of the praying towns, in the beginning of 
the war, had put themselves into a posture of defence, and 
had made forts for their security against the common enemy; 
and it was suggested and proposed to the authority of the 
country, that some English men, about one third part, might 
have been joined with those Christian Indians in each fort, 
which the praying Indians greatly desired, that thereby their 
fidelity might have been better demonstrated, and that with 
the assistance and company of some of those English soldiers, 
they'might daily scout or range the woods from town to town, 
in their several assigned stations, and hereby might have been 
as a living wall to guard the English frontiers, and conse- 
quently the greatest part of the Jurisdiction, which, with the 
blessing of God, might have prevented the desolations and 
devastations that afterward ensued . . . But such was the 
unhappiness of their affairs, or rather the displeasure of God 
in the case, that those counsels were rejected, and on the con- 
trary a spirit of enmity and hatred conceived by many against 
those poor Christian Indians, as I apprehend without cause, 
so far as I could ever understand, which was, according to the 
operation of second causes, a very great occasion of many 
distressing calamities that befell both one and the other." 

Hostilities began with the attack on the settlers at Swanzy, 
on the 24th of June. When, two days later, Major Thomas 



OUTBREAK OF KING PHILIP'S WAR 143 

Savage, with a foot company under Captain Daniel Henchman, 
and a troop commanded by Captain Thomas Prentice set 
forth against the enemy, they "at first thought easily to chastise 
the insolent doings and murderous practices of the heathen." 
But, as Captain Gookin goes on to say, "it was found another 
manner of thing than was expected; for our men could see no 
enemy to shoot at, but yet felt their bullets out of the thick 
bushes where they lay in ambushments. The enemy also used 
this stratagem, to apparel themselves from the waist upwards 
with green boughs, that our Englishmen could not readily 
discern them, or distinguish them from the natural bushes; 
this manner of fighting our men had little experience of, and 
hence were under great disadvantages. The English wanted 
not courage or resolution, but could not discern or find an 
enemy to light with, yet were galled by the enemy," 

Although the General Court had rejected Daniel Gookin's 
suggestions for utilizing the Christian Indians in the defense 
of the colony, the Governor and Council were more ready to 
listen to him. They "judged it very necessary," he says, "to 
arm and send forth some of the praying Indians to assist our 
forces, hereby not only to try their fidelity, but to deal the 
better with the enemy in their own ways and methods accord- 
ing to the Indian manner of fighting, wherein our Indians 
were well skilled." Accordingly, on July 2, Captain Gookin 
was instructed "to raise a company of the praying Indians 
forthwith, to be armed and furnished and sent to the army at 
Mount Hope." Messengers were at once sent by him "to all 
the praying Indians, ^ for one-third of their able men, who all 
readily and cheerfully appeared, and being enlisted were 
about 52." 

These Indians, according to the testimony of Major Sav- 
age, Captain Prentice and Captain Henchman, under whom 
they served, acquitted themselves courageously and faithfully. 
It would not have been surprising had it been otherwise, for 
they were so shabbily treated by some of the officers and sol- 
diers as to cause them great disgust. And afterward, when the 

'Though these are his own words, they should be understood as including only 
the Indians belonging to the so-called old praying towns. 



144 INDISCRIMINATING ANGER 

mass of the colonists were overcome by panic-stricken frenzy 
and hatred of all Indians indiscriminately, these men reported 
that the Christian Indian soldiers "were cowards and skulked 
behind trees in fight, and that they shot over the enemies heads 
and such like reproaches." 

In August the anger of the populace was greatly inflamed 
by the sad fate of Captain Hutchinson's expedition to Qua- 
baog, or Brookfield. To their irrational passion it signified 
nothing that the escape of the survivors was engineered by the 
two Christian Indians who accompanied the party, and that, 
through the skilful guidance of others, the relief forces under 
Major Willard avoided the enemy lying in wait for them. 
"Notwithstanding those signal and faithful services done by 
those Christian Indians, and divers others not here related," 
wrote Daniel Gookin, "yet the animosity and rage of the com- 
mon people increased against them, that the very name of a 
praying Indian was spoken against, in so much, that some wise 
and principal men advise some that were concerned with them 
to forbear giving that epithet of praying. This rage of the 
people, as I contend, was occasioned from hence. Because 
much mischief being done and English blood shed by the bru- 
tish enemy, and because some neighbour Indians to the Eng- 
lish at Quabage, Hadley, and Springfield (though none of those 
were praying Indians) had proved perfidious and were become 
enemies . . . the defection of those Indians . . . had a tend- 
ency to exasperate the English against all Indians, that they 
would admit no distinction between one Indian and another, 
forgetting that the Scriptures do record that sundry of the 
heathen in Israel's time, being proselyted to the Church proved 
very faithful and worthy men and women." 

This temper among the people was too violent to be ignored. 
"Things growing to this height," says Daniel Gookin, "the 
Governor and Council, against their own reason and inclina- 
tion, were put upon a kind of necessity, for gratifying the 
people, to disband all the praying Indians, and to make and 
publish an order to confine them to five of their own villages, 
and not stir above one mile from the centre of such place, 
upon peril of their lives." The only result of this order, 



UNJUST IMPUTATIONS 145 

which was passed at a council held in Boston, August 30, 1675, 
was that "the poor Christian Indians were reduced to great 
sufferings, being hindered from their hunting and looking 
after their cattle, swine, and getting in their corn, or laboring 
among the English to get clothes, and many other ways incom- 
moded; also, were daily exposed to be slain or imprisoned, if 
at any time they were found without their limits." 

The very day this order was promulgated, Captain Samuel 
Mosely sent to Boston "pinioned and fastened with lines from 
neck to neck," fifteen of the Indians residing in Okonhome- 
sitt, near Marlborough. Eleven of these were, by a renegade 
Indian to secure his own safety, accused of having committed 
the murder of seven persons at Lancaster on August 22. The 
people, now wrought up to fever heat, would have condemned 
them without a hearing, and included in their anger the few 
who da,red stand up for them. In the words of Daniel 
Gookin: "Notwithstanding the Council's endeavors in the 
former orders,^ and the testimony of these English witnesses 
on behalf of the Christian Indians, yet the clamors and animos- 
ity among the common people increased daily, not only against 
the Indians, but also all such English as were judged to be 
charitable to them. And particularly many harsh reflections 
and speeches were uttered against Major ^ Daniel Gookin, and 
Mr. John Eliot, the former of whom had been appointed by 
the authority of the General Court of Massachusetts, and 
approbation of the Honorable Governor and Corporation for 
Gospelizing those Indians to rule and govern those Indians 
about twenty years, and the latter had been their teacher and 
minister about thirty years, as if they did support and protect 
those Indians against the English; whereas (God knows) there 
was no ground for such an imputation, but was a device and 
contrivance of Satan and his instruments to hinder and sub- 
vert the work of religion among the Indians. ... It might 
rationally have been considered, that those two persons above- 
named, who had (one of them for above twenty years, and the 
other about thirty years), been acquainted with, and conver- 

^For the segregation of the praying Indians. 

^This title was not conferred upon him until May of the next year. 



146 DISREGARDING POPULAR CLAMOR 

sant among those Christian Indians, should have more know- 
ledge and experience of them than others had, and consequently 
should be able to speak more particularly concerning such of 
those Indians whom they knew (according to a judgment of 
charity) to be honest and pious persons. And if at such a time 
they should have been wholly silent and remiss in giving a 
modest testimony concerning them when called thereunto, 
God might justly have charged it upon them, as a sin and neg- 
lect of their duty, had they for fear declined to witness the 
truth for Christ, and for these his poor distressed servants, 
some of the Christian Indians." 

It was not, indeed, in the nature of a man of Daniel Goo- 
kin's stamp to keep silent under such circumstances. Instead 
he put forth all his powers in the interest of humanity and 
justice. By his fellow magistrates he was listened to with the 
utmost respect and consideration, both for his motives and 
the sanity of his judgement. By the insensate people it was 
but natural that he should be misconceived. The prevailing 
temper toward him is shown in a pamphlet entitled "The 
Present State of New England with Respect to the Indian 
War, Wherein is an Account of the true Reason thereof (as 
far as can be Judged by Men) Together with most of the 
Remarkable Passages that have happened from the 20th of 
June, till the loth of November, 1675. Faithfully composed 
by a Merchant of Boston, and Communicated to his Friend 
in London 1675." 

"There are" says the unknown author of this tract, "also 
another sort of Indians, (best known to the Commonalty of 
Boston) by the name of Mr. Elliot's Indiatis or Captain Guggins 
Indians. 

"This Mr. Elliot, you must understand, is the Man that 
hath by his own great Labour and Study, invented the way of 
Printing the Indian Language, and hath also perfectly trans- 
lated the whole Bible, with the Singing Psalms in Meeter; the 
Assemblies Catechism ; the Practice of Piety, into the Indian 
Language; as also Written several Books, very profitable for 
understanding the Grounds of Christian Religion: For which 
Pains and Labour he deserves Honour from all such who are 



A SCURRILOUS PAMPHLET 147 

Well-Wishers to things of the like Nature, whose Name will 
never Die in New England. 

"This Captain Guggins, is a Captain and Justice of Peace 
at Cambridg: He receives Thirty Pound per annum from the 
English, as fit to Judg among the Indians, to Judg any differ- 
ence (not Capital) among themselves, or between them and the 
English.^ 

"Toward the latter end of August, Captain Moseley took 
eight Indians alive, and sent them Prisoners to Boston, who 
were put in prison there; these were the number of Mr. 
Elliot's Indians; (as also many of those Indians that were Shipt 
off by Captain Sprague, for the Straits and Gales) these men 
were at several times tried for their Lives, and condemmed to 
Die: Mean time Mr. Elliot and Captain Guggins pleaded so 
very hard for the Indians, that the whole Council knew not 
what to do about them. They hearkened unto Mr. Elliot for 
his Gravity Age and Wisdom, and also for that he hath been 
the chief Instrument that the Lord hath made use of, in Prop- 
ogating the Gospel among the Heathen; And was their 
Teacher, till such time that some Indians were brought up in 
the University to supply his place. But for Captain Guggins, 
why such a wise Council as they should be so over-born by 
him, cannot be judged otherwise than because of his daily 
troubling them with his Impertinences and multitudinous 
Speeches, in so much that it was told him on the Bench by a 
very worthy Person ^ there present, that he ought rather to be 
Confined among his Indians, than to sit on the Bench; his 
taking the Indians part so much hath made him a By-word 
both among Men and Boys: But so it was, that by one and two 
at a time most of these eight Indians (and four more sent after- 
wards on the same account) were let loose by night,^ which so 
Exasperated the Commonalty, that about the loth of September 
at nine a Clock at night, there gathered together about forty 

^Thus is Daniel's salary as a Magistrate ingeniously made to appear as a com- 
pensation for his work among the Indians. 

2 "Capt. Oliver." 

^Daniel Gookin says only two Indians were released and that they were not 
accused of any crime. The others were tried and acquitted, toward the end of Sep- 
tember. Coll. Am. Ant. Soc. ii, 460, 466. 



148 RAGE OF THE POPULACE 

Men (some of note) and came to the House of Captain James 
Oliver; two or three of them went into his Entry to desire to 
speak with him, which was to desire him to be their Leader, 
and they should joyn together and go break open the Prison, 
and tdke one Indian out thence and Hang him: Captain Oliver 
hearing their request, took his Cane and cudgelled them stoutly 
and so for that time dismist the Company; which had he but 
in the least countenanced it might have been accompanied with 
ill Events in the end. Immediately Captain Oliver went and 
acquainted Mr. Ting his neighbour, (a Justice of Peace) and 
they both went the next Morning and acquainted the Gover- 
nour, who thank'd Captain Oliver for what he had done last 
night, but this rested not here: For the Commonalty were so 
enraged against Mr. Elliot, and Captain G/z^/V/j especially, that 
Captain Guggins said on the Bench, that he was afraid to go 
along the streets ; the answer was made, you may thank your- 
self; however an Order was issued out for the Execution of that 
one (notorious above the rest) Indian, and accordingly he was 
led by a Rope about his Neck to the Gallows ; when he came 
there the Executioners (for there were many) flung one end 
over the Post, and so hoisted him up like a Dog, three or four 
times, he being yet half alive and half dead; then came an 
Indian, a Friend of his, and with a Knife made a hole in his 
Breast to his Heart, and sucked out his Heartblood: Being 
asked the reason therefore, his answer, Umh, umh, nu, me 
stronger as 1 was before, me be so strong as me and he too, he 
be ver strong Man fore he die. Thus with the Dog-like death 
(good enough) of one poor Heathen, was the People's Rage 
laid in some measure, but in a short time it began to work 
(not without cause enough)." ^ 

^Daniel Gookin makes no mention of this affair in his History of the Christian 
Indians. Instead he says that the judges and jurors, through the blessing of God, 
were prevented from bringing blood upon the land. The unreliability of the author 
of the Letter to London is as evident as is his animus. 




CHAPTER XVI 




LL report travels quickly, and the calumnies 
uttered against Captain Gookin were not long in 
finding their echo in the neighboring colonies. 
In a letter dated Providence, October 20, 1675, 
Mary Pray — probably the wife of Ephraim 
Pray — wrote as follows, to Captain Oliver: "The 
. Indians boast and say those Indians that are caled 



praying Indians never shut at the other Indians, but up into 
the tops of the trees or into the ground; and when they make 
shew of going first into the swamp they comonly give the 
Indians noatis how to escape the English. Sir, we have expe- 
rience of them that they are as bad as any other; and it is 
report by the Indians them selves tha* Cap. Gucking helps 
them to powder and they sel it to those that are imployed by 
Philip to bye it for him. This we have ground to believe."^ 

By the end of October the clamor had become so insistent 
that an order was passed to remove all of the Natick Indians 
from their habitations and to quarter them upon Deer Island, 
in Boston Harbor. They were accordingly transferred thither 
on the night of October 30, and so "put upon a bleake bare 
Hand," to quote the words of John Eliot, in a letter to Hon. 
Robert Boyle, "where ye' suffer hunger & could, there is 
neither foode nor competent fuel to be had, & y" are bare in 
clouthing," they were forced to spend the winter. This removal 
was referred to by the author of the Letter to London, as follows: 



^CoU. Mass. Hist. Soc, Ser. 5, i, 106. 



149 



I50 KATTENANIT IMPRISONED 

"Care now is taken to satisfie the (reasonable) desires of 
the Commonalty, concerning Mr. Elliofs Indians, and Capt. 
Gu^ins Indians. They that wear the name of Praying Indians, 
but rather (as Mr. Hezekiah Ushur termed Preying Indians) 
they have made Preys of much English Blood, but now they 
are all reduced to their several Confinements; which is much 
to a general Satisfaction." 

About ten days after this, an incident occurred, which though 
trivial in itself, gave new life to the popular indignation against 
Daniel Gookin. Having been specially ordered by the Coun- 
cil to endeavour to gain intelligence of the enemy's movements, 
he sent out one Job Kattenanit, a trusty Indian, armed with a 
pass to provide for his safe conduct at his return. Shortly after 
setting out, Job was halted by some of Captain Henchman's 
scouts, and the pass meeting with "hard construction," he was 
carried back to Boston and placed in prison. "He had," says 
Daniel, "committed no ofTence (that ever I heard of) but was 
imprisoned merely to still the clamors of the people, who 
railed much against this poor fellow, and fain would have had 
him put to death, (though they knew not wherefore). But 
those murmurings were not only against the Indian, but as 
much against Major Gookin, who granted him the certificate; 
some not sparing to say that he was sent forth to give intelli- 
gence to the enemy, and such like false and reproachful reflec- 
tions upon their friends, that had many ways approved their 
fidelity to the country. But this was an hour of temptation 
and murmuring, as sometime God's own people are inclined 
unto, as at Massah and Meribah. Thus it pleased God to 
exercise this poor Job, yet reserved him for greater service 
afterward, as in the sequel will appear." 

The winter and spring of 1675-6 was for Daniel Gookin a 
trying time, as well as a very busy one. Meetings of the 
Council were frequent, and amid all his other duties the Indians 
were a never-ceasing care. He records that upon December 
13, "in a cold and very sharp season," he rode with Major 
Simon Willard and Rev. John Eliot to Concord to visit the 
Nashobah Christian Indians there domiciled by order of the 
General Court, and "to endeavour to quiet and compose the 



FAITHFUL INDIAN SPIES 151 

minds of the English there, touching those Indians." Again 
he says: "About the latter end of Dec, I had (among others) 
sometimes opportunity to accompany Mr, Elliot to visit and 
comfort the poor Christian Indians confined to Deer Island 
who were (a little before) increased to be about five hundred 
souls, by addition of the Punkapog Indians, sent thither upon 
as little cause as the Naticks were." And when, after the 
memorable Swamp Fight of December 19, the Council "were 
very desirous to use means to gain intelligence of the state 
of the enemy," he went again to the island on the 28th of the 
month and secured two trustworthy and capable men to serve 
as spies. Daniel tells us that, having spoken to the men, who 
were selected after a conference with two or three of the chiefs, 
they answered "that they were very sensible of the great 
hazard and danger in this undertaking; yet their love to the 
English, and that they might give more demonstrations of 
their fidelity, ... by God's assistance, they would willingly 
adventure their lives." 

One of the men selected was Job Kattenanit, who had fared 
so ill when setting forth upon a similar mission six weeks 
earlier, and who, because he had not thought it necessary to 
avoid Captain Henchman's scouts, being armed with a pass 
from Captain Gookin, had spent three weeks "in a small 
prison, which was very noisome." This time Job got safely 
away to the enemies' country, with his companion, who was 
named James Quannapohit. James returned on January 24, 
"very weary, faint and spent in travelling near eighty miles 
upon snow shoes, and was brought to Captain Gookin's house. 
He was the bearer of important news, which he gave to the 
Council the next day. "Job," to quote Daniel Gookin's 
words, "staid behind, and returned not until the 9th of Febru- 
ary; and then, about ten o'clock in the night, came to Major 
Gookin's house at Cambridge, conducted thither by one Joseph 
Miller, that lived near the falls of Charles River. He brought 
tidings, that before he came from the enemy at Menemesse, a 
party of the Indians, about four hundred, were marched forth 
to attack and burn Lancaster; and on the morrow, which was 
February loth, they would attempt it ... As soon as Major 



152 CALUMNIOUS ACCUSATIONS 

Gookin understood this tidings by Job, he rose out of his bed 
and, advising with Mr. Danforth, one of the Council, that lived 
near him, they despatched away post, in the night, to Marlbor- 
ough, Concord, and Lancaster, ordering forces to surround 
Lancaster with all speed." 

The difficulty of convincing people against their will 
becomes an impossibility when they are carried away by a 
popular craze. "After the coming back of those spies," says 
Daniel, "they were sent again to Deer Island. And although 
they had run such hazards, and done so good service (in the 
judgment of the authority of the country and other wise and 
prudent men), yet the vulgar spared not to load them with 
reproaches, and to impute the burning of Mendon (a deserted 
village) unto them, and to say that all they informed were lies, 
and that they held correspondence with the enemy, or else they 
had not come back safe ; and divers other things were muttered 
both against the spies and authority that sent them, tending to 
calumniate the poor men that had undertaken and effected this 
great affair, which none else (but they) were willing to engage 
in; which declares the rude temper of those times." 

While the Governor and most of the magistrates appear to 
have supported Daniel, his friend and neighbor Thomas 
Danforth was the most outspoken in defending him from these 
aspersions. So actively, indeed, did he second Daniel in his 
efforts in behalf of the maligned praying Indians, that heincurred 
a share in the popular hostility. A fresh outburst came after 
the burning of Lancaster on February loth, followed eleven 
days later by the attack on Medfield. The intelligence of 
these disasters, says Daniel Gookin, "occasioned many thoughts 
of hearty and hurrying motions, and gave opportunity to the 
vulgar to cry out, 'Oh, come, let us go down to Deer Island, 
and kill all the praying Indians.' "^ It may even be that a 
massacre of these poor creatures would have been attempted, 
but for the timely discovery of a plot to that end, and a warn- 
ing given to the ringleaders who were sent for by the Council. 
Foiled in this project, written handbills threatening the lives 

' Gookin's Hist, of the Christian Ind., 494. 



THREATENING PLACARDS 153 

of Gookin and Danforth were posted in Boston. In the State 
archives are two weather-stained copies of these placards, both 
reading as follows:* 

Boston, February 28, 1675 
Reader thou art desired not to supprese this paper but to promote its 
designe, which is to certify (those traytors to their king and countrey) 
Guggins and Danford, that some generous spirits have vowed their 
destruction; as Christians wee warne them to prepare for death, for though 
they will deservedly dye, yet we wish the health of their soules. 

By y® new society 

A. B. C. D. 

The author of this manifesto was, perhaps, one Richard 
Scott, who on the very day these placards appeared, gave vent 
to his feeling in the manner set forth in the following testi- 
mony which was taken at his trial, less than a week later. 

"Elizabeth Belcher, aged 57, Martha Remington, aged 31, 
and Mary Mitchell, aged 20, being sworne, doe say, that on y« 
28th day of Feb'' last, ab* 10 of the clocke at night, Ri: Scott 
came into y^ house of y^ said Belcher, and suddenly after he 
came in broak out into many hideous railing expressions ag* 
yo wor" Capt. Daniel Gookin, calling him an Irish dog y* was 
never faithful to his country, the sonne of a whoare, a bitch, a 
rogue, God confound him, & God rott his soul, saying if I 
could meet him alone I would pistoll him. I wish my knife 
and sizers were in his heart. He is the devil's interpreter. I 
and two or three more designed to cut of? all Gookin's breth- 
ren at the Island, but some English dog discovered it, the devil 
will plague him," etc. Sworn before Simon Willard, Assis- 
tant, March 4, 1675/6.2 Scott was fined and imprisoned, but 
afterward, having made a very humble confession, he was 
released. 

Earlier in the day when Scott thus misbehaved, the Gen- 
eral Court had adjourned, after having voted to raise an army 
of six hundred men to be placed under the command of Major 
Thomas Savage; but, as Daniel Gookin tells us, he "was not 
willing to undertake the charge unless he might have some of 

^ Mass. Archives, xxx, 193. 
*Ibid, xxx, 192. 



154 INDIAN SOLDIERS PROVE EFFICIENT 

the Christian Indians upon Deer Island to go with him for 
guides, &c; for the Major, being an experienced soldier, well 
considered the great necessity of such helps in such an under- 
taking." Among the more intelligent members of the com- 
munity the value of the services that these friendly Indians 
might render was beginning to be appreciated. In the midst 
of the sad tidings of fresh ravages that came thick and fast 
in March and April, 1676, Captain Daniel Henchman "made 
motions to the Council, once and, again, of his readiness to 
conduct these Indians against the enemy." Though his offer 
was not accepted, a little later the Council decided to arm and 
send forth a company of them under Captain Samuel Hunting. 
These had just been got together at Charlestown when word 
came of the threatened attack upon Sudbury. The intelli- 
gence reached Daniel Gookin at Charlestown. As he says: 
"Just at the beginning of the Lecture there, as soon as these 
tidings came. Major Gookin and Mr. Thomas Danforth 
(two of the Magistrates) who were then hearing the Lecture 
Sermon, being acquainted herewith, withdrew out of the meet- 
ing-house, and immediately gave orders for a ply of horse, 
belonging to Capt. Prentiss' troops, under conduct of Corporal 
Phipps, and the Indian company under Capt. Hunting, forth- 
with to march away for the relief of Sudbury." In the 
encounter that followed the Christian Indian soldiers gave 
such a good account of themselves that thenceforward, as long 
as the war lasted, they were constantly employed in expedi- 
tions against the enemy. 

In March Captain Gookin was much occupied with the 
problem of securing the release of the wife and children of the 
Rev. Mr. Rowlandson, who were among the captives carried 
away from Lancaster. The service of taking a message to the 
hostile savages was so dangerous that for some time Daniel 
was unable to persuade any one to undertake it, though he 
went to the Indians' camp on the Island and, as he phrased it, 
"did his utmost endeavours to procure an Indian to adven- 
ture." Persisting in his efforts, however, at last a messenger 
was found to conduct the negotiations, and being sent to 
Daniel's house in Cambridge, he was there "fitted and fur- 



A NARROW ESCAPE 155 

nished for this enterprise," which not only ended in the 
redemption of the prisoners, but also, says Daniel, "had no 
small influence into the abatement of the enemy's violence 
and our troubles." 

A mishap that befel the three friends of the Indians, 
Gookin, Eliot, and Danforth, early in April, and came near 
causing the loss of their lives, is very likely attributable to 
the prevailing animosity with which they were regarded. The 
story is related by Mr. Eliot in a memorandum entered upon 
the Record of his Church. 

"1676, on the 7^*" day of the 2^ month, Capt. Gookins, M' 
Danforth & M'' Stoughton w^ sent by the Councill to order 
matters at long Hand for the Indians planting there, y«' called 
me w**" y". In o"" way thithe"", a great boate of about 14 ton, 
meeting us, turn head upon us, (wheth' willfully or by negli- 
gence, God he knoweth) y^' run the sterne o'' boate w we 4 sat, 
under water, c boats saile, or something tangled w**" the great 
boat, & by God's mercy kept to it. My Cosin Jakob & cosin 
Perrie being forwarder in o'' boat quickly got up into the great 
boat. I so sunke y* I drank in salt water twice, & could not 
help it. God assisted my two cosins to deliver us all, & help 
us up into the great boat. We were not far fr'm the Castle, 
where we went ashore, dryed & refreshed, & y° went to the 
Hand p'formed c work, returned well home at night praised 
be the Lord. Some thanked God & some wished we had bene 
drowned. Soone after, one y* wished we had bene drowned, 
was himselfe drowned about the same place w we w so won- 
derfully delivered, the history w'off is," — here the account 
abruptly ends. 

It is recorded that on this occasion Daniel Gookin lost "a 
large cloak of drab due berry lin'd through with fine serge, 
cost in London about eight pounds," also "a new pair of 
gloves cost 2^ and a rattan, headed with Ivory worth i8^" 
while Mr, Eliot lost "a good castor hat worth ten shillings." 





CHAPTER XVII 

OR more than twenty years, when the votes for 
magistrates were opened in Boston at the spring 
meeting of General Court, Daniel Gookin's name 
had always stood at or near the head of the list. 
In May, 1676, the votes in his favor dropped 
from about twelve hundred to 446 and he failed 
of election. John Eliot thus recorded the event: 



"Month 3 day 4. Election Day, the people in theire distemper left 
out Capt. Gookin & put him off the Bench." 

The ballot was taken at the darkest time in the war and in 
all probability the result was not unexpected. All of the can- 
didates known to stand up for the Christian Indians lost votes, 
Thomas Danforth getting only 840, Joseph Dudley 669, while 
Major Thomas Savage received barely 441. 

When the General Court met, the members made haste to 
manifest their sympathy for Daniel Gookin, and their confi- 
dence in his motives and his ability. One of their first acts 
was to promote him to the office of Sergeant-major of the 
regiment of Middlesex, or commander-in-chief of the military 
forces of the county. This was on May 5, 1676, when he 
was "by the whole Court chosen and appointed." The duties 
proper to that office had been performed by him since 
October 13, 1675, when, in the absence of the Major, he had 
been instructed to put the whole command "into a posture of 
warr." In compliance with the order he had, on November 2, 

156 



MILITARY DUTIES 157 

dispatched Captain Joseph Sill with sixty men of Charles- 
town, Watertown, and Cambridge, against the enemy. His 
letter of instructions closes thus: 

"So desiring the ever-living Lord God to accompany you and your 
company with his gracious conduct and presence, and that he will for 
Christ's sake appear in all the mounts of difficulty, and cover all your 
heads in the day of battle, and deliver the bloodthirsty and cruel enemy 
of God and his people into your hands, and make you executioners of his 
just indignation upon them, and return you victorious unto us, I commit 
you and your company unto God, and remain 

Your very loving friend 

Daniel Gookin, Sen'"^ 

Other evidences of Daniel's military activity at this period 
are not wanting. Service in the field, it hardly need be pointed 
out, was not expected of him; that was for younger men. 
Moreover he was far too important a person to be spared 
from the seat of the government. Various papers that have 
been preserved tell of duties that devolved upon him. For 
example, on January 11, 1675/6, "the committee of militia of 
Charlestown, Cambridge, and Watertown," were "ordered and 
required to impress such armor, breasts, backs, and head- 
pieces, and blunderbusses, as you can find in your respective 
towns, and to give express and speedy order that they may be 
cleaned and fitted for service, and sent in to Cambridge to 
Captain Gookin at or before the 15th of this instant, by him 
to be sent up to the army by such troopers as are ordered to 
go up to the army. "2 Again, on April 25, 1676, instructions 
were given to Captain Gookin as " Commander-in-chief of all 
the forces of horse and foot in this expedition, for the service 
of the Colony, against the enemy." ^ A letter written by him 
to the Council for the management of the War, four days 
before he was given his commission as Major, shows that in 
this, as in everything that came to his hand to do, his energies 
were put forth unsparingly. 

^Mass. Arch., Ixviii, 40. Daniel's signature was afterwards erased from this 
letter and "By the Council, E. R. S." substituted. 
^Ibid, p. 114. 
^Ibid., p. 228. 



158 NIGHT ORDERS 

"Honored Sirs, 

I received your orders after I was retired to rest; but I suddenly got 
up and issued forth warrants for the dehnquents, and sent away the war- 
rant to Capt. Prentice, and also sent warrants to the commander-in-chief 
of Charlestown, Watertown, Cambridge, and the Village, Maiden, and 
Woburn, to raise one fourth part of their companies to appear at Cam- 
bridge this morning at eight a clock. But 1 fear the rain and darkness of 
the last night hath impeded their rendesvous at the time; but sometime 
today I hope they will appear, or at least some of them. I judge, if the 
Captains do their duty in uprightness, there may be about lOO men, or 
near it. 1 have written to Capt. Hammond to send up Capt. Cutler to 
conduct this company; I am uncertain about his compliance; I desire 
your order, in case of failure, and also directions to what rendesvous to 
send this company when raised. It is a very afflictive time to be called 
off, considering we have planting in hand this week, and our fortification 
pressing upon our shoulders.^ But God sees meet to order it so that 
this rod must smart sharply. I pray let me have your directions sent away 
with all speed. I stay at home on purpose to despatch these soldiers. So 
with my dutiful respects to >iour honored selves, I remain 

Your assured friend and servant. 
May the first, 1676 DANIEL GOOKIN, Sen.^ 

Having given Daniel his appointment as Major, the Gen- 
eral Court, taking notice of "the present distressed condition 
of the Indians at the island, they being ready to perish for 
want of bread," ordered that a man with a boat be employed 
to assist them in catching fish. A few days later it was decided 
to remove them "to convenient places for their planting." 
Most of the able-bodied men had taken service in the army. 
Those who were left were nearly all old men, women and chil- 
dren, about four hundred in number. So "the Council ordered 
Maj. Gookin & M"^ Eliot to make the seperation" and "Maj' 
Gookin to appoint y« committees time & place for reception 
of each parcell of Indians & to impress boats, &c., for their 
removal forthwith, & that he takes care to arm & dispatch the 
Indian souldjers." 

The removal was effected on May 12, when, in the words 
of John Eliot, as set down in his Church record, "the Indians 

^This refers to the stockade ordered built by the town at a meeting held March 
27. The attack on Medfield, six days before, had caused great alarm and a feeling 
oif insecurity even in the vicinity of Boston. 

^Mass. Archives, Ixviii, 247. 



REMOVAL OF THE PRAYING INDIANS 159 

came off the Hand. Capt, Gookin cars for y" at Cambridge." 
Daniel's own account is more specific. "Major Gookin, their 
old friend and ruler, . . . forthwith hired boats to bring them 
from the Islands to Cambridge, not far from the house of Mr. 
Thomas Oliver, a pious man, and of a very loving, compas- 
sionate spirit to those poor Indians; who, when others were 
shy, he freely offered a place for their present settlement upon 
his land, which was very commodious for situation being near 
Charles River, convenient for fishing, and where there was 
plenty of fuel; and Mr. Oliver had a good fortification at his 
house, near the place where the wigwams stood, where, (if need 
were) they might retreat for their security. This deliverance 
from the Island was a jubilee to those poor creatures; and 
though many of them were sick at this time of their removal, 
especially some of the chief men, as Waban, John Thomas, 
and Josiah Harding, with divers other men, women and chil- 
dren, were sick of a dysentery and fever, at their first coming 
up from the Island; but by the care of the Major, and his 
wife, and Mr. Eliot, making provision for them, of food and 
medicines, several of them recovered, particularly Waban and 
John Thomas; the one the principal ruler, and the other a 
principal teacher of them, who were both extreme low, but 
God had in mercy raised them up." 

In the autumn, the war being over, the Indians removed, 
"some to the falls of Charles river, and some settled about 
Hoanantum Hill,i not far from Mr. Oliver's, near the very 
place where they first began to pray to God, and Mr. Eliot 
first taught them, which was about thirty years since. Here 
Anthony, one of the teachers, built a large wigwam, at which 
place the lecture and school were kept in the winter 1676; 
where Major Gookin and Mr. Eliot ordinarily met every fort- 
night; and the other week among the Packemitt^ Indians, 
who were also brought from the Island at the same time and 
placed near Brush Hill in Milton." Thus at the earliest 
moment practicable, did the indefatigable Eliot and Gookin 
again take up their interrupted missionary labours. The 

'Otherwise known as Nonantum. 
^Or Punkapog, now Stoughton. 



i6o PERSISTENT PREJUDICE 

value of this work to the Colony had been amply demon- 
strated by the conduct of the Christian Indians during the war. 
But for it there can be little doubt that many of these Indians 
would have been arrayed against the English, and that the 
terrors of the sanguinary conflict would have been far greater 
than they were. Yet even the efficient aid rendered by the 
Indian soldiers, and the proof this gave of their fidelity, did 
not entirely eradicate the prejudice felt against them and their 
defenders. As late as October, 1677, when the Indians had 
gone back to their settlements at Natick and Punkapog, one 
John Jones having been arrested for attempting to run down 
Thomas Danforth, John Marshall testified that on October 9, 
1677: 

"I saw John Joans driveing his trucks, whipping his 
horses which caused them to run very furiously; the worship- 
ful Thomas Danforth being before the trucks shifted the way 
several times to escape the horses, and I was afraid they 
would have ran over him ; but having escaped them when the 
said Joans came to the wharfe where I was, I asked him why 
he drave his trucks soe hard to run over people, and told him 
he had like to have ran over Mr. Danforth; he answered it 
was noe matter if Mr. Danforth and Major Gucking were 
both hanged. 

"Sworn in Court. J. Dudley Assistant, 12, 8, '^'j. Said 
Jones is sentenced to be admonished, and not to drive a cart 
in Boston upon penalty of a severe whipping. J. Dudley, per 
order." Thus was the punishment neatly made to fit the 
offense. 

Although a few shallow persons, like Jones, remained obdu- 
rate and unconvinceable, the steadfast demeanour of Daniel 
Gookin, his calm and unflinching attitude in the time of dis- 
turbance, his care to refrain from recrimination when reviled, 
and his unselfish devotion to the welfare of the community, 
soon silenced most of the outcry against him and brought 
about a revulsion of feeling in his favour. When election day 
came around, in May, 1677, he was once more chosen Assist- 
ant, and reinstated in his place upon the bench. 




CHAPTER XVIII 




ILITARY duties, in addition to those that came 
to him as magistrate and as a member of the Coun- 
cil, made 1677 a busy year for Major Gookin. 
Nevertheless he found time in the autumn to 
write for the "Corporation for Gospelizing the 
Indians in New England," as he styled it, "An 
Historical Account of the Doings and Suffer- 
ings of the Christian Indians in New England, in the years 
1675, 1676, 1677." This work, accompanied by an epistle ded- 
icatory, dated December 18, 1677, was sent by him to Robert 
Boyle, the Governor of the Society. No doubt he hoped that 
the society would see fit to publish it, but for some reason this 
was not done, and the manuscript was lost until 1835, when 
it turned up in the hands of an English clergyman. By him 
it was loaned to the Rev. Mr. Campbell of Pittsburgh, from 
whom it was borrowed by Mr. Jared Sparks, who brought it to 
the attention of the American Antiquarian Society, and, in 1836, 
it was published in Volume II of "Archaeologia Americana" 
— the Transactions and Proceedings of that society. 

This work formed a supplement to an earlier treatise 
entitled "Historical Collections of the Indians in New Eng- 
land," which Daniel finished in 1674, and transmitted to Mr. 
Boyle in December of that year. This manuscript, like the 
other, was long forgotten, but finally coming to light in a library 
in England, it was first printed in 1792 in Volume I of the 
Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. A sepa- 

161 



i62 GOOKIN'S HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND 

rate edition was also issued the same year, "at the Apollo 
Press in Boston, by Belknap and Hall."^ Although complete 
in itself, this work was designed as a part of a general History 
of New England which he had projected upon a plan more 
comprehensive and philosophical than was attempted by any 
one else for more than a century after his time. In a post- 
script to the treatise he outlined the scope of the history and 
his reasons for undertaking its preparation, in words which tes- 
tify alike to his modesty and his eminent fitness for the task. 

Concerning this matter the reader may please to understand, that 
when I first drew up these Collections, it was intended for a second book 
of the history of New-England. But that being not yet above half-finished, 
and this concerning the Indians being destinct from the other, which 
treateth principally of the Indians in New-England, although it was no 
great incongruity, had it accompanied the rest: But for some reasons at 
this juncture, I have thought it not unseasonable to emit this of the Indians 
first. The scope and design of the author in that intended history, you 
may see in what follows, setting forth the number and subjects of each 
book. 

THE HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND, ESPECIALLY OF THE 
COLONY OF MASSACHUSETTS, IN EIGHT BOOKS, 
FAITHFULLY COLLECTED BY DANIEL GOOKIN, 
ONE OF THE MAGISTRATES THEREOF. 
BOOK I. Describeth the country of New-England in general: the 
extent thereof: the division of it into four colonies: the situation of the 
several harbours and islands: the nature of the land and soil: the com- 
modities and product both of the earth and sea, before it was inhabited by 
the English nation: and divers other things relating thereunto: with a 
map of the country, to be placed at the end of the first book. 

BOOK II. Treateth of the Indians, natives of the country: their 
customs, manners, and government, before the English settled there: also 
their present state in matters of religion and government; and in especial 
of the praying Indians, who have visibly received the gospel; mentioning 
the means and instruments that God hath used for their civilizing and 
conversion, and the success thereof through the blessing of God : the pres- 
ent state of these praying Indians: the number and situation of their 
towns, and their churches and people, both in the colony of Massachu- 
setts, and elsewhere in the country ; with divers other matters referring to 
that affair. 

^A copy of this edition, perhaps unique, is in the library of the Wisconsin 
Historical Society at Madison. The volume of the Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections 
containing it has been twice reprinted ; in 1806 and again in 1859. 



GOOKIN'S HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND 163 

BOOK III. Setteth forth the first discovery, planting, and settling 
New-England by the English: as the time when it was undertaken; 
the occasion inducing them to transplant themselves and families; the 
condition and quality of the first undertakers; especially those of Massa- 
chusetts colony; and the grounds and motives for their removal from 
their native country unto New-England : with divers other matters con- 
cerning the same: and in the close of this book, a brief account of the 
author's life, and the reasons inducing him to remove himself and family 
into New-England. 

BOOK IV. Discourseth of the civil government of New-England; 
particularly of the colony of Massachusetts, which is founded upon the 
royal charter of king Charles the first, of famous memory; with a recital 
of the chief heads of the said charter or patent: with the several grada- 
tions of the courts, both executive and legislative: together with a brief 
mention of the state of the confederacy between the united colonies of 
New-England, viz. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Plymouth, with 
the publick benefit and safety occurring to the whole country thereby. 

BOOK V. Of the present condition and state of the country: as 
the number and names of the counties and towns ; A conjecture of the 
number of people in the country: the military forces of horse and foot: 
their fortifications upon their principal harbours : their navigation and 
number of ships and other vessels : their money and commodities raised in 
the country, for use at home, or commerce abroad : of foreign commodities 
most suitable for the country's use, to be imported : of their manufactures; 
with the opportunities and advantages to increase the same, which hitherto 
hath been obstructed, and the reason thereof: with some arguments to 
excite the people unto more intenseness and diligence in improving the 
manufacture of the country. 

BOOK VI. Giveth an account of the worthies in New-England, 
and especially the magistrates and ministers in all the colonies: their 
names and the characters of some of the most eminent of them that are 
deceased: with the names of the governours of Massachusetts, from the 
beginning until this present, and the times of their death: and sundry 
other matters appertaining thereto. 

BOOK VII. Mentioneth some of the most eminent and remarkable 
mercies, providences and doings of God for this people in New England, 
from the first beginning of this plantation unto this day; wherein many 
wonderful salvations of the almighty and our most gracious God hath 
showed and extended towards them, which they should declare unto their 
children and children's children, that so the great name of Jehovah may 
be magnified and only^ exalted. 

BOOK VIII. Declareth their religion and the order of their church 
government in New England : with a rehearsal of their faith and platform 

^Thus printed in the Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections, but possibly a misreading of 
the word "duly." 



i64 QUALIFICATIONS FOR AUTHORSHIP 

of church discipline, drawn out of the word of God : with a vindication 
of this people from the unjust imputations of separatism, anabaptism, and 
other heterodoxies : also a brief mention of the college at Cambridge in 
New-England: the present state thereof: the care and faithful endeavours 
used, that it may be upheld and encouraged for the education of learned 
and able men, to supply both orders of church and state in future times : 
also a brief commemoration of the names of the presidents and fellows, 
that have been of that society; with other learned men, dead and living, 
that have been graduates there from its first foundation. 

You may here see my design, which I earnestly desired might have 
been drawn by a more able pen: and I have often earnestly moved able 
persons to undertake it: but not knowing of any, and being unwilling 
that a matter of so great concernment for the honour of God and the good 
of men, should be buried in oblivion, I have adventured in my old age, 
and in a plain style, to draw some rude delineaments of God's beautiful 
work in this land. I have, through grace, travelled half way in this work, 
as is said before ; but in truth, I find myself clogged with so many avoca- 
tions; as my publick employ among the English and Indians, and my 
own personal and family exercises, which by reason of my low estate in 
the world are the more obstructive and perplexing : so that I cannot pro- 
ceed in this work so vigorously as I desire. Yet I shall endeavour, by 
God's assistance, if he please to spare me life and ability, to make what 
speedy progress 1 can. If this tract concerning the Indians find accept- 
ance, I shall be the more encouraged to finish and send forth the other; 
which although it should prove very imperfect, by reason of the weakness 
and un worthiness of the author; yet I shall endeavour that it be drawn 
according to truth; and then, if it be of no other use, it may serve to 
inform my children, or possibly contribute some little help to a more able 
pen, to set forth the same thing, more exactly and exquisitely garnished, 
in after times. 

The language of this statement would alone be enough to 
certify his mental equipment for the undertaking. No other 
man in New England had better opportunities for ascertaining 
facts, no other had such certain poise, such breadth of outlook. 
It is impossible to peruse his works, and in especial his history 
of the Christian Indians, and not feel a growing admiration 
and respect for him both as a man and as a writer. The entire 
absence of bitterness even when referring to the brutal reviling 
to which he was subjected, bears silent witness to his largeness 
of mind and the sweetness of his disposition. The tranquil 
tone is that of a strong man resting secure in the conscious- 
ness of rectitude, and upheld by an unshakable faith in the 



A WELL-DESERVED TRIBUTE 165 

beneficence of God and by resignation to His will. "As we 
study his writings," says Moses Coit Tyler, "we see shining 
through them the signals of a very noble manhood, — modesty, 
tenderness, strength, devoutness, a heart full of sympathy for 
every kind of distress, a hand able and quick to reach out and 
obey the promptings of his heart. Then, too, we are impressed 
by his uncommon intellectual value. We find that he had 
width and grip in his ideas; his mind was trained to orderly 
movement ; his style rose clear and free above the turbid and 
pedantic rhetoric of his age and neighborhood; his reading 
was shown, not in the flapping tags of quotation, but in a dif- 
fused intelligence, fullness, and poise of thought; as an histo- 
rian, he had the primary virtues — truth, fairness, lucidity." ^ 

It would be difficult to add anything to a pronouncement at 
once so just and so appreciative. 

How nearly Daniel was able to complete his History of 
Massachusetts we shall probably never know. The family 
tradition is that the manuscript was destroyed when the tavern 
kept by his grandson, Richard Gookin, at Dedham, was burned 
in 1742; and as extended and careful search has failed to yield 
any trace of it, this tradition may be assumed to be correct. 
Its loss, as has been well said, is indeed, "a calamity to early 
American History." 2 

An intimation that Daniel was the author of a third tract 
relating to the Indians, is found in a letter addressed by John 
Eliot to Robert Boyle, under date, November 4, 1680.' "We 
are in great aflliction by the Manquaoy Indians," he writes; 
"more than 60 at several times have been killed or captived; 
a narrative whereof Major Gookin presented to Lord Cul- 
pepper, who was affected with it. Also he presented a copy 
thereof to Sir Edmond Andros, who was likewise affected with 
it though it is said, that he might have prevented it. . . . Major 
Gookin intendeth to present your honour with a copy of the 
same narrative." Some day, it is to be hoped, one of these 
copies may yet come to light. 

^ History of Am. Literature, i, 151. 

«Ibid.,i, 157. 

'Birch's Life of Boyle, London, 1744, p. 436. 




CHAPTER XIX 




HE name of Daniel Gookin is so intimately 
connected with the establishment of the city of 
Worcester, that he may not improperly be re- 
garded as in a sense its founder. *'To ascribe^ 
to Major General Daniel Gookin the title of 
Father of Worcester," says Ellery B. Crane, 
"would be conferring a compliment well de- 
served, and at the same time impart an honor to Worcester 
which she need not feel ashamed of or reluctant to accept."^ 

The first action looking toward the forming of a settlement 
was taken by the General Court on October ii, 1665, when in 
answer to a petition by Lieut. Thomas Noyes of Sudbury and 
several others, the Court, "understanding that there is a meet 
place for a plantation about ten miles from Marlborough west- 
ward, at or neere Quansicamug Pond, which, that it may be 
improved for that end, & not spoyled by granting of farmes," 
named Captain Gookin, Captain Edward Johnson, Lieut. 
Joshua Fisher, and Lieut. Thomas Noyes, as a committee "to 
make a survey of the place." 

The death of Lieut. Noyes and other impediments pre- 
vented this Committee from doing anything, and so the matter 
rested until May 15, 1667, when the Court again nominated 
Captain Daniel Gookin, Captain Edward Johnson, Samuel 
Andrew, and Andrew Belcher, Senior, "as a committee to take 
an exact view of the said place as soone as conveniently they 

^Historical Notes on the Early Settlement of Worcester, p. 20. , 

166 



THE FOUNDING OF WORCESTER 167 

can." The report of this Committee was not made until 
October 20, 1668. It recommended the place as suitable for 
a small plantation, whereupon, on November 7, the Court 
appointed "Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Tho. Prentice, M' 
Daniel Henchman, & Leiften"' Beare, or any three of them 
to be a comittee, whereof Capt. Danil Gookin to be one," to 
lay out and establish the settlement. 

Taking several prospective settlers with them, all four 
commissioners visited the site early in May of the next year. 
They found it "very commodious for the scittuation of a 
towne," but in part taken up by grants of the Court, and there- 
fore unavailable for the purpose, unless the grantees should be 
dispossessed and provided for elsewhere. In consequence, 
four more years elapsed before the settlement could begin. 
The first book of "Records of the Proprietors," consisting 
of twenty-eight closely written pages in the hand of Daniel 
Gookin, shows that by 1673 the difficulties had been cleared 
away and lots had been assigned to thirty-two persons. Only 
fourteen of these perfected their titles by paying their share of 
the expense incurred by the Committee, which included Indian 
purchase money. Among the fourteen were Daniel Gookin, 
his son Samuel, and Daniel Henchman, who, next to Gookin 
was the most active member of the Commission. 

In the autumn of this year a house situated "a little beyond 
the brook," was built by the Committee. This, with the houses 
of Ephraim Curtis and Thomas Brown, finished in 1674, are 
all that are certainly known to have been erected prior to the 
Indian war which broke out a year later, when they were burned 
by the savages. Though the Committee resumed their labours 
after the war was over, they found it exceedingly difficult to 
secure acceptable men who were willing to settle in the new 
town. The matter had come so nearly to a standstill by 1682 
that the General Court gave notice that unless substantial prog- 
ress was made in the near future the place would be forfeited. 
Accordingly it was arranged that a new survey should be 
made, which was done upon a new plat and the lots reassigned 
in difl^erent and more widely scattered locations, only five per- 
sons, of whom Daniel Gookin was one, appearing as proprie- 



i68 THE NEW SETTLEMENT NAMED 

tors in both grants. This was in 1683. The next year a few 
log houses were built, and Captain Daniel Henchman went to 
Worcester to reside and to give the settlement his personal 
superintendence. His efforts were short-lived, for he died at 
his home there, on October 15, 1685. 

At a General Court held in Boston on October 15, 1864, 
"Upon y« motion & desire of Ma)° Gen^n Daniel Gookin, 
Cap* Thomas Prentice & Daniel Henchman this Courts Com- 
mittee for y« setling of a new Plantation neare Quansikomon 
pond. Humbly desireing y* y« Court will please to name y« 
Town Worcester," that name was accordingly bestowed upon 
it. What reason Daniel Gookin may have had for this selec- 
tion can only be conjectured. The view has been advanced 
by Senator George F. Hoar, Ellery B. Crane, and others that 
it was intended as a tribute to the memory of Oliver Cromwell. 
That Daniel should wish to do him honour is most likely, not 
alone because he was an ardent admirer of the great defender 
of the liberties of the English people, but also because of the 
close relation that had existed between the Protector and sev- 
eral members of the Gookin family. Daniel's employment 
as Cromwell's agent in his cherished scheme of building up 
the colony of Jamaica has already been related. His cousin 
Vincent Gookin, the leader of the Moderate party in the three 
Cromwellian parliaments; the protagonist of the Irish, who, 
by his determined efforts, frustrated the movement for their 
wholesale transplantation to Connaught; Commissioner of the 
Admiralty; Commissioner General for the Revenues of Ire- 
land; and Surveyor General of Ireland under the Protectorate, 
was the personal choice of Cromwell for the public offices 
that he held. Captain Robert Gookin, Vincent's younger 
brother, was a zealous and faithful adherent to whom Cromwell 
directed that a large grant of land in Ireland should be made, 
in spite of the opposition of Fleetwood and others; and still 
another cousin, Samuel Gookin of London, the son of Dan- 
iel's uncle John, was appointed one of the Commissioners for 
Compounding with the Loyalists, commonly known at the time 
as the Drury House Trustees, from their place of meeting, 
and sometimes referred to as the "Treason Trustees." 



WHY NAMED WORCESTER? 169 

Clearly there were strong personal reasons why Daniel 
Gookin may have had Cromwell in mind when naming the 
new settlement. Yet it may be doubted whether these were 
uppermost in his mind. In its military aspects the battle of 
Worcester cannot be considered as one of Cromwell's great 
achievements. To the Puritans of his day, however, the vic- 
tory gained there was one of deep significance. Hugh Peters 
gave voice to their feelings in his address to the militiamen 
who had taken part in the battle, — "When your wives and 
children shall ask where you have been and what news: say 
you have been at Worcester, where England's sorrows began, 
and where they are happily ended." As these words were 
printed in the " Diurnal," it is not improbable that they reached 
Daniel Gookin and made a deep impression upon him. He 
was in England in 1650, and from his familiarity with the dis- 
tressing conditions that prevailed there he could well under- 
stand why the defeat of the King's forces at Worcester in the 
succeeding year should be regarded by Cromwell as "a crown- 
ing mercy." Whether the impression was still strong enough 
thirty-three years later to determine the choice of a name for 
the Quinsigamond plantation is a question to which no certain 
answer is forthcoming. So far as is known, however, Daniel 
Gookin had no personal associations with the English city, 
and it may well be that he was influenced by both of the con- 
siderations here set forth. 

In 1685 a controversy arose between two of the settlers. 
Captain John Wing and George Danson, in regard to their 
lands. This was finally ended by a committee appointed on 
June II, 1686, on the application of Wing and other propri- 
etors of the town. The committee consisted of Major Gen- 
eral Daniel Gookin, Captain Thomas Prentice, William Bond, 
Captain Joseph Lynd, and Deacon John Haynes. They were 
instructed to regulate the affairs of the settlement and to con- 
firm titles to lands in Worcester, and "any three of them were 
empowered to act provided Major Gookin was one of the 
three." 

Daniel Gookin, now an old man and nearing the end of his 
career, kept up his interest in the settlement as long as he 



170 SHERIFF DANIEL GOOKIN 

lived. It was out of the question that he should go there to 
dwell. But it was on his recommendation that the town was 
laid out, and, under more favorable circumstances, it is prob- 
able that his endeavors to build it up would have met with 
greater success. The set-back caused by Philip's war, how- 
ever, was too lasting to be overcome until long after Daniel 
had been laid to rest. 

The lots in Worcester granted to Daniel were not disposed 
of by his heirs until 1720, when they were sold to John Smith 
for the sum of ^120. 

When, in the year 173 1, the county of Worcester was 
formed, Daniel Gookin's grandson and namesake, the son of 
his son Samuel, was commissioned Sheriff, and he held the 
office until his death in June, 1743. 




CHAPTER XX 




OON after the restoration of Charles II to the 
crown, a controversy began with the colonists 
over their charter privileges, which continued 
with scarcely any intermission for more than 
twenty years. Both sides were desirous of avoid- 
ing open rupture, yet neither showed the least 
disposition to yield. The tenacity with which 
the colonists held to what they regarded as their rights, was 
matched by equal determination on the part of the crown to 
exercise authority over them. The men at the head of the 
Colonial government showed themselves adepts at clever fenc- 
ing, and for a long time a crisis was averted. Gradually, 
however, the tension became more acute. In the years follow- 
ing the Indian war much fuel was added to the flame by the 
machinations of that "evil genius of New England," Edward 
Randolph. And when, in 1681, a royal mandate was received, 
directing that authorized agents be sent to London to repre- 
sent the colony and answer to a land claimant, it was perceived 
that at last the issue had been presented in a form that could 
no longer be evaded. 

The seriousness of the situation was admitted by all, but 
grave differences of opinion arose as to the best policy to pur- 
sue. The government divided into two parties, both agreed 
as to the importance of the privileges conferred by the char- 
ter, but differing as to their extent, and upon the measures 
that should be taken to preserve them. Governor Brad- 

171 



172 GROWING POPULARITY 

street, and with him William Stoughton, Joseph Dudley, and 
William Brown, were for bowing to the storm, hoping thus it 
would pass by and leave them unharmed. Opposed to this 
view was the other party, of which Thomas Danforth and 
Daniel Gookin were the leaders. Arrayed with them were 
several of the principal members of the court, and they appear 
to have had the support also of the more intelligent part of 
the community. 

For several years Major Gookin's popularity had been 
steadily growing. In his opposition to the arbitrary measures 
proposed by the crown, he displayed the same spirit of dog- 
ged determination with which he adhered to the cause of the 
Christian Indians in the face of popular delirium. Of possible 
consequences to himself he took no note in either case. As 
he stood between the unhappy red men and the enraged col- 
onists, while clearly recognizing the danger of personal vio- 
lence to himself, so now he came forward and openly advocated 
the policy he believed to be right. To yield to the king's 
demands he clearly foresaw would be a fatal mistake. So he 
stoutly stood for a strict construction of the charter. He 
opposed the sending agents to England. He opposed sub- 
mission to the acts of trade. Resistance might endanger their 
charter; submission would certainly destroy its substance. 

Not for himself did he take this stand. He was sixty- 
eight years old, and it could make little difference to him per- 
sonally, during the few remaining years that he could hope 
would be his portion. Yet from the fullness of his heart did 
he draw up the following paper which he desired might be 
lodged with the Court as his dying testimony. 

Honored Gentlemen: — Haueing liberty by law (title Liberties com- 
mon) to present in speech or writing any necessary motion, or information, 
whereof ih.2ii meeting hath proper cognizance so it bee don in conuenient 
time, due order and Respective manner — 1 have chosen the latter way 
and hope I shall attend the qualifications as to time, order and manner. 

It is much upon my hart to suggest to your prudent, pious and 
serious consideration my poore thoughts touching the matters lyeing 
before you, which (to my weake understanding) is a case of great con- 
cernment, as to weale or woe of thousands of the Lord's poore people in 
this wilderness, yt for the testimony of Jesus transplanted themselves into 



PROTEST AGAINST COLONIAL AGENTS 173 

this wilderness yn vnhabited; and here purchasing ye right of the natives 
did sit downe in this vacuum, as it were, and who with great labour and 
sufferings, for many yeares conflicting with hard winters and hot summers 
haue possessed and left to yr posterity Those inheritances so rightfully 
allotted to ym According to the Law of God and man; those considera- 
tions render the matter most momentous to me. 

Your present work (as I understand) is, to draw up instructions for 
An Agent or Agents to bee sent for England, in complyance with his 
ma'ties commands in his last letter, which requires vs to send Agents, 
within 3 months duly impoured to Answer a claime made by one Mr. 
Mason claiming title to a certaine tract of land within this jurisdiction, 
particularly between the riuers of Naumkeike^ and Merimack, upon wh 
land many of our principal townes are seated, and many thousands of 
people interested and concerned who haue right to these lands by the 
Generall Court's grant, Indian Title, and yt impoured, and that for about 
fifty yeares, and without any claime made by Mr. Mason, or his predeces- 
sors, and besides their title hath beene established by o'r law till possession, 
printed and published, when conuenient time was granted to enter ye 
ciaimes if any, and upon the pr'mises many sales and Alienations haue 
(doubtles) beene made; and diuers of the first planters deceased, leaving 
their inheritances to ye quiet poss'ion of yr posterity; All this notwith- 
standing by the Letters aforesaid (wch there is good ground to think hath 
beene procured and sent ouer more by the solicitation of our enimies yn 
any disposition in his moste excelent ma'tie (o'r gracious king) to quel so 
great disquiet and disturbance to his poore inocent and Loyal Subjects, 
inhabiting in this place, as is occassioned therby, in requiring us to send an 
Agent or Agents to Answer before him and unto Mr. Mason's ciaimes, on 
behalf of these proprietors called Ter tennants, and to abide by the termi- 
nation y't shall be there giuen; Could wee promise o'rselues, that the 
conclusion would bee in o'r fauor, which we have no assurance to expect, 
yet the scruple with me for sending at all as the case is circumstanced is 
not remoued, but remains vntouched. 

I. Because this pr'cedent in conceding to send Agent or Agents for 
the tryalls and to Answer particular complaints and claymes in England 
before his ma'tie touching proprieties,^ will (as I humbly conceue) have 
a tendency, if not certenly subuert and destroy the mayne nerves of o'r 
Government and Charter, lawes and liberties. Besides (as I apr'hend) 
it will bereaue us of o'r liberties as Englishmen, (confirmed many times 
by magna charta, who are to bee tryed in all their concernes, ciuil, or crimi- 
nal by 12 honest men of the neighbourhood, under oath and in his ma'ties 
Courts, before his sworn Judges and not before his ma'ties Royal person; 
surely o'r com'g 3 thousand miles under security of his ma'ties title, and 
by his good leave to plant this howling wilderness hath not deuested us 

* Otherwise, Salem. 

^I. e., proprietorship of lands. 



174 PROTEST AGAINST COLONIAL AGENTS 

of that native liberty w'h o'r countrymen injoy. Now if Mr. Mason haue 
any claime to make, of any man within this jurisdiction, his ma'ties Courts 
heere established by charter are open to him : And he may implead any 
man yt doth him wrong before ye Jury and sworne Judges; according to 
law and pattent heretofore and lately confirmed by his Royal ma'tie as 
under his signet doth or may appeare. 

2d. To send Agents not duly impoured as his ma'ties It'r requires 
will probably offend and prouoake his ma'tie rather yn please him and 
give him occasion either to imprison o'r Agents, until they be fully 
impoured or otherwise pass a final! Judgment in the case (if Agents bee 
there) though they stand mute and doe not plead to the case. And on 
the other hand if Agents are sent duly impoured to Answer as the letter 
requires, yn let it bee considered whether wee doe not, at once, undoe 
ourselues and posterity, in being obliged to Respond any complaint or try 
any case, ciuill or criminal wch it shall please any person, that delights in 
giuing us trouble, is pleased to bring thither, the Greevous Burden and 
inconvience whereof would bee intolerable. I conceue, if one of the 
twaine must bee submitted to, it were much Better to desire yt A Gen- 
eral Gouernor or Commission'rs might bee Constituted here in the 
country to try all cases ciuil, criminal and military according to discretion, 
as was Attempted by the Commissioners Anno 1664, 1665. But then 
God was pleased to influence his people with such a degree of virtue and 
courage, firmely to Adhere unto o'r charter and the Laws and Liberties 
thereby established; and God of his grace and goodness was then pleased, 
upon our humble Adreses to o'r King, to incline his ma'ties Royall hart to 
accept of o'r Answer and not to give us further trouble, the consequence 
whereof was yt we have enjoyed o'r mercys 15 years longer, and who 
knows But it may bee so now if wee make our humble Adreses and give 
o'r reasons for not sending Agents; surely o'r God is the same, yesterday 
and to-day and for euer; and our king is the same, inclining to fau'r the 
Righteous caus of his poore inocente and loyal subjects and I doubt not 
if wee make triall and follow our endea'r by faith and prair but God will 
appear for us, in mercy, & make a good Isue of this affayre. 

The sending of Agents will contract a very great charge and expenses 
wch the poore people are very unable to stand under, considering the great 
diminishings yt wee haue had by warr, small pox, fires, sea loses. Blastings 
and other publicke loses, for my part, I see not how mony will be raised 
to defray this charge unles it bee borrowed upon interest of some partic- 
ular man ; moreouer the country is yet in debt and pays interest for mony 
yearly; especially to bee at so great cost for no other end (in probability) 
but to cut us short of o'r Liberties and priviledges as too late experience 
in o'r former Agent's Negotiations doth evidence. 

Besides this matter of Mr. Mason's claims wee are required to send 
Agents to Attend the Regulation of o'r Government, &c., and to satisfy 
his ma'tie in Admitting freemen as is proposed in ye letter. And to give 



COGENT ARGUMENTS 175 

an Acc't what incouragement is giuen to such persons as desire to wor- 
ship God According to the way of the church of England. 

Now to send Agents to Answer and attend these things, who sees not 
how grate a snare It may proue unto us, for Touching our Government 
wee are well contented with it and o'r charter and desire no change. If 
there should bee any Lawes yt are Repugnant to ye Laws of England, 
(I know not any,) they may be repealed. 

Concerning Freemen's Admission, nothing is more cleare in the char- 
ter, yn this, that the Gouern'r and Company haue free liberty to admit 
whome they thinke meet. 

As for any that desire to worship God According to the manner of 
the church of England, there is no law to pr'hibite or restraine ym neith'r 
is it meet to make any law to yt effect because it would bee repugnant to 
the law of England. But for this Gou'ment to declare or make a law to 
Encourage Any to practise yt worship here, may it not bee feared this would 
offend God, and bee condemning the doings and sufferings of o'rselues and 
fathers that first planted this country. 

These things considered and many more I might Aleadge giue mee 
cause to desire your pardon that I cannot consent or iudge it expedient to 
send An Agent or Agents at this time as things are circumstanced. 

Therefore I conceiue it is much the Best and safest course not to send 
any Agent at all and consequently the committe may forbeare to draw up 
Instruction for them but rather pr'sent to the court the difficulties in the 
case; and if you please, I am not unwilling that this paper bee pr'sented to 
the Honored Court to consider of. 

And rather if you see meet to draw up and pr'sent to the Gen'll 
Court a humble and Argumentative Address to his Sacred ma'tie To par- 
don his poore yet Loyal people in this matter so destructive to the quiet 
and so inconsistent with their well being. 

But to this it may be objected, 

I objection, that it is our duty to send Agents because the King 
commands it, otherwise we may be found Breakers of the fi'th command. 

Answer — I humbly conceue wee ought to distinguish of o'r duty to 
Super'rs, sometimes possibly they may require vnlawful things as the 
Rulers of the Jewes did of the Apostles; Acts, 4:18. 19. — in wch case 
[the] Holy Ghost tels us our duty in yt text. 2dly. Rulers may com- 
mand things yt considered in their tendencies and circumstances and 
comixture with religion, may be of a morall nature and consequently 
unlawful and not to be allow'd in doing. But rather Runne the Hazard 
of Suffering, of which nature I humbly conceaue is the pr'sent cause, for 
if wee send agents as the letter requires wee doe destroy ourselues in our 
greatest concerns as I apr'hend : now selfe preseruation, is a moral duty 
and not only Reason and Religion but nature, doth teach us this. Againe, 
if this Gouernment of ours bee of Chhts establishing and gift and a part 
of his purchase, as I judge it is, will it not bee a moral end for us to bee 



176 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED 

Active in parting with it. I remember yt eminent Mr. Mitchell, now in 
heaven, in his publicke lecture (February 1660,) speaking of Cht's Kingly 
Gouernment upon a ciuil Acct, did Declare that this Gouernment setled 
in ye Massachus'ts according to pattent and laws was as hee said a speci- 
men of that ciuil Gour'nt, that the lord Cht Jesus Design'd to establish 
in the whole world where in such as are godly p'rsons, and vnder his 
Kingly Gouernment in his church should bee electers and elected to 
pouer. And therefore said hee who eu'r hee bee yt shall goe about to 
subuert or undermine this Gouernment, hee sets himselfe against Cht 
Jesus, and hee will (then) haue Cht for his enimy. Also Reverend Mr. 
Shepard in his booke of the ten Uirgins, 25 math, in ye I part, page 166, 
speaks to ye same purpose. These persons were burning and shineing 
lights in yr Generation and much of God's mynd did they know and 
speak. 

Object. 2. But if wee send no Agents wee must expect sad conse- 
quences yrof such as putting us out of his ma'ties Allegeance, damning 
o'r patent, inhibiting trade, and such like. 

Answer i : Something hath been spoken aboue to this matter to wh 
I Refer. 

2 : I verily Belieue yt so gracious a prince as o'r king is will bee very 
slow to deale so seuerely against his poore loyall subjects yt Are not con- 
scious wee haue shewed any disloyalty to him or his pr'desc'rs, nor have 
been unwilling to obey him in the lord. But when the case is so circum- 
stanced yt we must be Accounted offenders or Ruine o'rselues; of 2 evels 
ye least is to be chosen. 

3 : But if it should bee soe yt wee must suffer in this case wee may 
have ground to hope yt God o'r father in Cht will support and comfort 
us in all o'r tribulations and in his due time deliuer vs. Much more 
might be s'd Touching the pr'my'es. But I have been too tedious And 
longer yn I intended for wch I crave yr pardon and humbly intreat a can- 
did construction of this paper a coveringe of all the imperfections yr off: 
This case, as is aboue hinted, is very momentous and therefore I intreat 
you candidly to peruse what is s'd, if there bee little waight in it (as some 
may thinke) it is satisfactory to me, that I haue offered it to yr considera- 
tion, and yt I have in this great cause (before I goe hence and bee no more 
wch I must shortly expect) giuen my testimony and declared my judgment 
in this great concerne of Jesus Cht, To whome I commit all and yorselues 
also desiring him to be to you as hee is in himselfe, the mighty counsel- 
lor, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

I remaine your most humble seruant 

and His ma'ties most Loyal Subject, 

Daniel Gookin, Sen'r. 

Cambridge, February 14, 1680. 

These for the Hon'rable Symon Bradstreet Esq. Gouernour, and 
Thomas Danforth Esq. Deputy Gouernor, and the Rest of the Honored 



PUBLIC APPROBATION 177 

Gent, of the Committee of the Generall Court appointed to draw up and 
prepare instructions for Agents to bee sent for England Sitting in Boston, 
pr'sented." 

The emission of this paper not only won the day for the 
contention of the radical party, but also gained for its author 
a measure of public approbation that must have been pecu- 
liarly sweet after the obloquy so unjustly visited upon him five 
years before. The defender of the red men was now hailed 
as the champion of the people. At the next General Election, 
May II, 1681, he was made Major General, or commander-in- 
chief of all the military forces of the colony. Thus did the 
people manifest their respect and esteem, and their confidence 
not alone in his judgement in civil matters, but in his capacity 
as a commander. As he was already a magistrate, it was, 
indeed, the highest honor within their power to confer, unless 
they had elected him governor, which would have violated all 
their traditions, the custom being to retain faithful public 
servants in office as long as they were able and willing to 
serve. 

The five years during which Daniel Gookin held the posi- 
tion of Major General was a time of ever-increasing distress 
in the affairs of the colony, until finally these troubles culmi- 
nated, in 1686, with the abrogation of the charter government 
by James II. In the struggle with the crown, the active 
leadership during this acute stage fell to Thomas Danforth, 
but Daniel Gookin, despite his years and the multiplicity of 
his employments, was his zealous and able second. Together 
they fought Edward Randolph at every turn, incurring, as was 
natural, the enmity of that infamous self-seeker, who, on May 
29, 1682, wrote the Bishop of London: 

"I think I have so clearly layd downe the matter of fact, sent over 
their lavves and orders to confirme what I have wrote, that they cannot 
deny them : However, if commanded, I will readily pass the seas to attend 
at Whitehall, especially if Danford, Goggin, and Newell, magistrates, 
and Cooke, Hutchinson and Fisher, members of their late General Court 
and great opposers of the honest Governor and majestrates be sent for to 
appeare before his Majesty; till which time this country will always be a 
shame as well as inconveniency to the government at home."^ 

^Hutchinson's Coll., p. 499. 



178 THE CHARTER ABROGATED 

King James, however, was too closely occupied with more 
important things to heed this suggestion. Danforth and 
Gookin maintained their attitude resolutely to the end; and 
though at last they were overborne, yet in the sequel, when 
the colony was reduced to a position little better than slavery, 
the validity of Daniel's arguments was made manifest. 

Chief Justice Sewall's diary affords a glimpse of General 

Gookin in the sorrowful days when the colony was deprived 

of its charter. 

"Satterday, May 15, 1686. 
"Gov Hinkley, Major Richards, Mr Russell and Self sent to by Major 
Dudley to come to Capt. Paige's where we saw the ExempHfication of 
the Judgement against the Charter . . . before we returned, the Magis- 
trates were gone to the Governour's and from thence they adjourned till 
Monday one o'clock. Major Generall came home and dined with me." 

Monday, May 17th, 1686. 
"Generall Court sits at One aclock. I goe thither, about 3. The Old 
Government draws to the North-side, Mr. Addington, Capt. Smith and I 
sit at the Table, there not being room: Major Dudley the Praesident, 
Major Pynchon, Capt. Gedney, Mr. Mason, Randolph, Capt. Winthrop, 
Mr. Wharton came in on the Left, Mr. Stoughton I left out: Came 
also Capt. King's Frigot, Gov' Hinkley, Gov"' West and sate on the Bench, 
and the Room pretty well filled with Spectators in an instant. 

" Major Dudley made a Speech, that was sorry could treat them no 
longer as Governour and Company; Produced the Exemplification of the 
Charter's Condemnation, the Commission under the Broad Seal of Eng- 
land — both: Letter of the Lords, Commission of Admiralty, openly 
exhibiting them to the People ; when had done, Deputy Governour said sup- 
pos'd they expected not the Court's answer now; which the Praesident 
took up and said they could not acknowledge them as such and could no 
way capitulate with them, to which I think no Reply. 

"When gone Major Generall, Major Richards, Mr. Russel and Self 
spake our minds. I chose to say after the Major Generall adding that 
the foundations being destroyed what can the Righteous do; speaking 
against a Protest; which some spake for." 

There was, indeed, nothing that could be done, and we 
can easily picture to ourselves the grief and bitter feeling of 
helplessness that then came over Daniel Gookin and his associ- 
ates in the old government. The abrogation of the charter 
was a blow that shattered the very foundation of their civil 
rights, and with a Papist upon the throne of England the out- 
look for the colony seemed dark and cheerless. 




CHAPTER XXI 




RS. MARY GOOKIN, Daniel's wife and his 
faithful companion for almost forty-four years, 
passed away on Saturday, October 27, 1683,' 
leaving his home desolate. It is greatly to be 
regretted by her descendants that no contem- 
porary account of Mary has been handed down 
to our time. All we can know of her is that she 
was a pious, godly woman, and the worthy helpmeet of one of 
the noblest and purest of men. The one mention of her that 
Daniel makes in his writings shows her assisting him in min- 
istering to the sick among the Natick Indians after their 
release from Deer Island.^ She was the mother of all his 
children, nine in number. 

Samuel, the eldest, was born in England about 1640, and 
died in infancy, in Virginia. Mary, the second child, was born 
in Virginia about 1642, and on June 8, 1670, was married to 
Edmund Batter of Salem, as his second wife. He died in 
August, 1685, at the age of 76, and Mary survived him until 
1702. 

Elizabeth, the third child, was born in Roxbury, Mass., 
March 14, 1644/5. On May 23, 1666, she was married to Rev. 
John Eliot, Jr., who died on October 11, 1668. By him she 
had a son, John Eliot, who grew up in the household of his 
grandfather Daniel Gookin, by whom he was greatly beloved. 

>See "Diary of Rev. Noadiah Russell," N. Eng. Hist. Gen. Reg., 1853. 
^ Supra, p. 159. 

179 



i8o GENERAL GOOKIN'S CHILDREN 

Elizabeth remained a widow and lived with her father until 
December 8, 1680, when she became the second wife of Col- 
onel Edmund Quincy of Braintree. From her all the Quincys 
in the United States descend. Colonel Quincy died January 

8, 1697/8, and Elizabeth died on November 30, 1700. 

The fourth child, Hannah, was baptized in Roxbury, May 

9, 1647, and died there August 2 of the same year. Daniel, 
the fifth child, was born in Cambridge, April 8, and died Sep- 
tember 3, 1649. 

Another son Daniel was born in Cambridge, July 12, 1650. 
He was at first a fellow of Harvard College, but at the instance 
of his father he entered the ministry, settled at Sherburne, and 
engaged in the work of preaching to the Christian Indians at 
Natick, which he began about the time of his marriage to 
Elizabeth Quincy, daughter of Colonel Edmund Quincy by his 
first wife, Joanna Hoar. This marriage took place on October 
4, 1682. It was a great consolation to the Major General 
during his last years that his eldest son, described by John 
Eliot as "a. pious and learned young man,"i should devote his 
life to the spiritual enlightenment of the savages. He contin- 
ued in the work until physical infirmity and advancing years 
compelled him to desist. On January 2, 1691, his wife Eliza- 
beth died, and on July 21 of the following year he married 
Bethiah, daughter of Richard and Thomazin Collacot, of 
Dorchester. Daniel died in Sherburne, January 8, 1717/8; 
Bethiah died in Dedham, December 12, 1729. 

Daniel Gookin's seventh child, Samuel, was born in Cam- 
bridge, April 22, 1652, and died there September 16, 1730. 
He was Sheriff of Suffolk from 1691 until 1702 and afterward 
for many years, until a short time before his death, he held the 
same office in the county of Middlesex. His first wife and the 
mother of his children was Mary(?Larkin). She died about 
1707 and on September 28, 1708, he married Hannah, daughter 
of Samuel and Hannah (Manning) Stearns, and widow of 
Thomas Biscoe. 

Solomon, Daniel Gookin's eighth child, was born in Cam- 

* Birch's Life of Robert Boyle, p. 444. 



SECOND MARRIAGE i8i 

bridge, June 20, and died July 16, 1654. Nathaniel, the young- 
est of the nine, was born in Cambridge October 22, 1656. He 
was a man of fine ability and was greatly mourned when he 
died, on August 7, 1692, in his thirty-sixth year. He was then 
the beloved pastor of the First Church in Cambridge. His 
wife, whom he married August 3, 1685, was Hannah, daughter 
of his step-mother by her first husband, Habijah Savage. 

After his wife's death Daniel's household consisted of only 
himself, his son Nathaniel, then beginning the second year of 
his pastorate of the First Church in Cambridge, and his six- 
teen-year-old grandson, John Eliot. About a year later Dan- 
iel married again, taking as a helpmeet in his old age, Mrs. 
Hannah Savage,^ daughter of Edward and Mary (Sears) 
Tyng, and widow of Habijah Savage. The date of this mar- 
riage does not appear to have been recorded. It was, however, 
prior to April 10, 1685, on which day Daniel and Hannah, 
in consideration of the sum of ^^95 New England money, 
conveyed to Major John Child, of London, a farm at Pom- 
pasettacutt that had been granted to Daniel by the General 
Court. 

Hannah, who was born March 7, 1640, was married to her 
first husband. May 8, 1661. He died before May 24, 1669, 
leaving her with three^ young children to bring up. When 
she married General Gookin, her son Thomas was aged 
twenty, and her twin daughters, Hannah and Mary, were sev- 
enteen. Both of the daughters, and probably the son also, 
joined Daniel Gookin's family circle when he became their step- 
father, and it cannot be doubted that the presence of the young 
people in the house helped much to cheer his life during the 
two years that yet remained to him. Pleasant, too, he must 
have found it, to watch the growth of the attachment which 
sprang up between his son Nathaniel and his step-daughter 
Hannah, and was soon followed by their marriage. 

Notwithstanding his seventy-two years Daniel was still hale 
and hearty. His zeal in the Indian work showed no sign of 

^This alliance made Daniel brother-in-law to Daniel Searle, Rev. Samuel Wil- 
lard, and Gov. Joseph Dudley, the husbands of Hannah's sisters. 

■^Possibly four; one, the eldest, died young, but the date is not known. 



1 82 A FALSE ACCUSATION 

flagging, though it was carried on under great discouragements. 
Professions of Interest were made by many, yet Eliot wrote to 
Boyle that Major Gookin was his "only cordial assistant." 
In another letter he speaks of him as "a pillar in our Indian 
work." The majority of the people were apathetic. Illegal 
seizures of property of the Indians were not uncommon and 
caused Daniel much trouble and annoyance. But the most 
frequent obstruction came from violations of the law forbid- 
ding the sale of liquor to the red men, under severe penalty. 
A typical case is related by Daniel In a deposition made by him 
in December, 1681. 

"I wel remember That upon the 12'^ of May last in that morning 
John Hastings Constable of Cambridge brought from the prison before 
me two Indians one called Job Nesutan & the other John Chosumphs: 
whome hee had (w*** others) Taken drunke in the street the night before. 
These Indians beeing questioned where they had the drink y' made y™ 
drunk they would not confesse where they had the drink, so I passed a 
sentence upon them according to law & comitted them to prison until! it 
was performed : After this either the same day or y* next day some of 
my family informed mee y* they heard y* Job the Indian in prison had 
informed the prison keeper that my son Samuel Gookin had let him have 
two pence in drinke w'^'' made him drunk; whereupon I sent for my son 
Samuel & told him what I heard Job had said of him about his selling or 
giving him drinke. But my son answered that it was a false accusation 
for hee had not any strong drink in his house, whereupon I bid him 
goe to the prison keeper & bid him come & bring Job before me to 
accuse my sonne to his face that hee might cleare himself if need were as 
the law allowes: But as I afterwards understood Samuel Goffe interposed 
& quarreled with my son & kept the indian from coming before me w"*" 
was an obstruction of Justice & contempt of Authority: And about the 
same time another indian called John Pachanaharm hearing y*^Job had 
accused my sonn hee came before me & told me that he knew where Job 
& the other Indians had the drinke that made y" Drunke, for hee was 
with them & they drunk as much cider as they desired at 3** a quart w"^ 
they had at Sam. Goffes house: & therupon hee s*^ if I would p'rmit him 
hee would goe presently & fetch cider there w"'' accordingly hee did in 
the sight of two English witnesses, hee carried w**" him an empty bottle 
unto Sam Goff's house & brought it forth full of cider. So the English 
men seased upon him and brought both the indian & cider Before me & 
y° I took the Indians testimony of y* former matters. Morou' I know y* 
Sam Goffe Lent Job the Indian money to Redeeme him out of prison, as 
the Jaylor wel knowes, & moreu' I have good ground to Beeleve by infor- 
mation of the Indians that Samuel Goffe persuaded Job to accuse my 



SOLICITUDE FOR INDIAN CHARGES 183 

son: thereby to blemish My sonne & to conceale his owne guih in selling 
the indians cider: further in this case I say not. 

Sworn in Court J. R. C. DANIEL GOOKIN 

20: 10: 81 

Aggression by white settlers caused General Gookin to 
write two letters a few years later, which reflect his constant 
solicitude for the welfare of his Indian charges. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO WILLIAM STOUGHTON AND JOSEPH 

DUDLEY 1 
Gentelmen. Cambridge, June 9"' 1684 

I understand that some indians are to Appeare before you this day, 
to claime title, by young Josias, of some land, belonging to the Township 
of Naticke, w'^'' ensigne Grout of Sudbury doth as I conceue, most wrong- 
fuly & indirectly endeavor to Beareve the Natick Indians of it. I intreat 
you to bee very slow to make any conclusion upon it; or give yo' sense 
of it untill you shall haue opertuny to know the Intrigues in the case, 
w'^'" canot bee discoured to you in a few lines. Tis most certene y' Josias 
Ancesters both father & grandfather haue yelded up all y'' right to y* 
English of these land & besides M' Eliot paid to the old Indians a just 
compensation for all their Natural Right & gave it for a Township for y® 
Indians of Naticke. The Gen" Court has also granted y" Indians of y* 
place the tract of land, as also ye Township haue againe & they haue 
possest it by y® law of possessions & their hath beene a title cried in 
Charles towne court 2 years since betwen Es. Grout & Natick indians 
for y® individul piece of land & the Indians recoured the land & the 
Marshal General deleured it to y" by execution & Grout paid all costs, 
yet is hee restles & would now (as I heare) by a Title from Josias and 
giue y" new trouble. Many things might be s'' more to shew y* unworthy 
dealing of F. Groutt in this matter. And y' probably will appeare in 
due time; I haue no more to Trouble you at this time beeing in hast, 
W*** my due respects & seruice p'sented I remaine 

Yo' assured friend & humble Seruant 

Daniel Gookin Sen' 

The second letter is without date, but was probably written 
about the same time as the preceding one. 

DANIEL GOOKIN TO JOSEPH DUDLEY, PRESIDENT OF THE 

COUNCIL 

Hono'ble S' 

The Indians Belonging to Hassanamesit who are Beare[r]s herof doe 
complaine to mee (but I haue noe power to Releeue them) that one 

^ Now in possession of Charles B. Gookin, of Boston. 



i84 LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH 

Edward Pratt a pretended purchaser from John Wompas deceased, Hath 
lately Actually built a house within their township of 4 miles square & 
very neare unto their orchards & planting fields : at w'^'' they are agreued 
& when they aske him the Reason of his actions hee saith y* hee hath 
frends lately com ov' & in power y* wil beare him out in it. Besides as 
I am informed this fellow sells the indians strong liquors. He is as I 
ap'^hend rather to bee reputed a disorderly wandering Rouge than a sober 
p'son, hee is a single man Sc hath neither wife nor child. These are 
Humbly to intreat you to direct y* Indians what shal be done in the case 
& please to send a warrant for said Pratt & here his p'^tensions for his 
doings & proceed w**" him as you shal see meet in y'' wisdome; If it 
were in my power or limetts I should not giue y"' bono' this trouble. 

Also these Indians desire they may be furnished with some powder & 
shott to defend them from the M aquas, w'=^ they are in dayley feare of & are 
at present Remoued to Mendon but intend as soon as they get some 
powder & shot & a little corn they intend to returne to their fort at 
Hassanameset. If yo^ please to order y" to receue 6"" of powder & shott 
equivalent it may suffice. So w*'' my humble seruice p''sented 

I Remaine 
yo"' serv* 

Daniel Gookin 



The summer of 1686 found Daniel still able to take the 
long horseback ride of twenty miles or so to Natick to look 
after his Indian charges and to hear his son Daniel preach to 
them. Sewall records attending the lecture there on Septem- 
ber I and says he ''came home accompanied by Major Gookin 
and his son Sam. till the way parted." 

The next spring Daniel was stricken with his last illness. 
By March 18 the end was near at hand. Sewall wrote in his 
diary: *'I go to Charlestown Lecture, and then with Capt. 
Hutchinson to see dying Major Gookin. He speaks to us." 
And then on the next day: "March 19 1686/7, Satterday, 
about 5 or 6 in the morn, Major Daniel Gookin dies, a right 
good Man." 

His last days were saddened by the tribulations that had 
befallen the colony with the loss of the charter. Though the 
greater power lay with the other side in the long controversy, 
yet he had the satisfaction of having done all that was possible 
for any one to do to avert the catastrophe, and his conscience 
was clear. 



ELIOT'S LETTER TO BOYLE 185 

The funeral was held on Tuesday, March 22, when his 
remains were placed in the burying ground of the First 
Church, opposite the gate to Harvard College. The grave is 
marked by a brick monument covered with a fiat slab of 
brown sandstone bearing the inscription: 

Here lyeth intered 

y« body of Major Gen"^ 

DANIEL GOOKINS aged 

75 yeares, who 

departed this life 

yM9 of March 

1686/7 

For one in his station in life Daniel Gookin was possessed 
of small means, yet he was never so poor that he could not live 
as became a gentleman, though simply and frugally as did 
most of those by whom he was surrounded. In his later years 
his estate was considerably diminished. The income derived 
from his public employments was inadequate, and he had lit- 
tle time to augment it otherwise. Gradually the lands granted 
him by the General Court, as well as those in Virginia and 
Maryland, had to be sold. Still he was far from being so near 
to poverty as has been assumed from the language used by 
John Eliot in a letter to Robert Boyle, written more than a 
year after Daniel's death. 

JOHN ELIOT TO ROBERT BOYLE ^ 

Roxbury, July 7, 1688. 
Right honourable, deep learned, abundantly charitable, and constant nurs- 
ing father. 
Sir, 
I am drawing home, and am glad of an opportunity to take my leave 
of your honour with all thankfulness. Sir, many years since you pleased 
to commit 30/. into my hand, upon a design for the promoting Christ his 
kingdom among the Indians ; which gift of yours I have religiously kept, 
waiting an opportunity so to improve it; but God hath not pleased yet 

^Printed in Birch's Life of Boyle, p. 448, also in Suffolk Co. Probate, ii, 75. 



i86 GENERAL GOOKIN'S WILL 

to open such a door. I am old, and desire to finish that matter, and take 
the boldness to request your honour, that it may be thus disposed of. It 
being in the hand of major Gookin's relict widow, and he died poor, though 
full of good works, and greatly beneficent to the Indians, and bewailed by 
them to this day; therefore let his widow have lo/. his eldest son, who 
holds up a lecture among the Indians and English lo/. and the third lo/. 
give it to Mr. John Cotton, who helped me much in the second edition 
of the bible. . . . 

It would appear that the gift solicited by Eliot was asked 
more in recognition of Daniel's services than because of the 
urgency of Mrs. Gookin's need. Daniel's will shows that he 
left her sufficiently provided for, and that his estate, despite its 
smallness, was not much below the average size of gentlemen's 
estates in New England at that period. The will is of interest 
also for the full and clear confession which it gives of the 
essentials of the faith of that time. 

"The will & Testament of Daniell Gookin, Senior, Liveing at Cam- 
bridg in New England, made & don this ij**" day of Aug' 1685, Being 
threw the grace of God at y" present writing hereof, of a perfect under- 
standing & of a sound mind", altho. under sum bodily Infirmitye at present, 
& Considering allso that I am through God's favour arived to neare sev- 
enty three years of aige, & Expecting Dayly when my Chang will come, I 
think it my Dutye Incombent upon me. To Set my house in order & to 
Dispose of that small Estate (mutch more than I deserve) which God hath 
committed to my stuardship, for the prevencion of any Difference among 
my Relations after my decease. 

In the first place, I commit my Imortall soule, and the concernes 
thereof into the everlasting armes of the Infinite & Eternall God, the 
father, the son, & the holy goust, three persons, yet but one Essence, the 
only liveing & the trew God; I Rely only upon the free grace of God for 
my Eternal salvation, through the merritts, satisfaction and Rightiousness 
of Jesus Christ, the only begotten sonn of the father full of grace and 
truth, being also Equal w**" the father and holy spirrit, one god, blessed for 
ever, who for us men, and our salvation, in fulness of tyme, came from 
heaven, & took upon him the nature of man, being born of the blessed 
Virgin Mary, was Conceived by y" holy Ghoust, and he is god-man in 
one person, and is the greate Mediator between god & man, & ever lives 
at the Right hand of God, in the Eternall heavens, makeing Continual 
Intercession for all the Elect, for whom he shed his precious blood to 
Redeem them from sin & y® wrath of god, w'^'' work of Redemption, 
performed fully by him is Accepted by god, and I believe that his Right- 
iousness, satisfaction, and merritts Imputed to me by faith, & my sinns 



GENERAL GOOKIN'S WILL 187 

and transgressions, being of god's free grace Imputed to him, I have good 
hope, through grace, that I am justified and adopted, & my sinns par- 
doned, and in some measure begun to be sanctified by the holy goust, & 
that after my Death & Resorection, be perfectly glorified in the full 
Injoyment of God to all Eternity, for my body w'^'' though naturally 
fraile and Corrupt, yet through Grace, is made a temple of the holy 
goust, and therefore my will is that it may be Deacently Interred in the 
Earth in Cambridge burying place neare the dust of my wife, but I desire 
noe ostentation or much cost, to be expended at my funerall because it is 
a tyme of greate tribulacon^ & my Estate but little & weake. 

Secondly, touching my outward Estate I dispose of it as follows. 
To my Dearely beloved wife Hannah, I give & bequeath to her all that 
Estate reall and personal that she was possessed of before her marriage w'*" 
mee. Also 1 give unto her for terme of her life my Dwelling house, 
barne and out houses, orchard & gardens appertaining to it, & the use of 
three commons belonging to it for wood and pasturage (my house lyes 
adjoining to the back lane in Cambridge) to have & to hold y" premises 
for her use & benefit dureing her Naturall Life, provided she Endeavor 
to keepe both houses & fences in Repair. Again I give unto my wife 
one Cow or the red heifer w**" a white face. Also I give her one brown 
ambling mare. I give to her my second bible, also I give & bequeath to 
her for ever a peece of plate either a Cupp or Tankard to be made new 
for her marked ^i. Also I give her the use of a feather bed & furniture 
dureing her life, but after her Death to be delivered as hereafter shall bee 
expressed. Moreover I give her the use of all the tables, cupboards, chairs 
& stoles or other necessary household stuff that she desires for her use 
while she abides in the house, to the vallue of tenn pounds. 

To my sonn Daniel Gookin I give my silver Tankard, my bigest 
Carbine w"*" he hath Received already, my best bed & bolster, blew Rugg 
and two blanketts & the blew curtaines & vallines belonging to it, w**" the 
straw bed under it. Also to him I give my Death's head Ring of gold 
w"*" 1 ware on my finger, and halfe my wareing apparell of all sorts w**" 
my best hatt, all to be delivered to him or in case of his death before mee, 
to his wife & sonn Daniell three monthes after my Death. Also I give 
to him my Curtelax^ & a silver spoone to his sonn Daniell. 

Unto my sonn Samuell & his children for ever I give & bequeath the 
Dwelling house, barne, outhouses and yard, gardens & orchards where he 
now Dwelleth & all to it belonging w**" two Commons, and although I 
changed this house &c w"" him for that W*" I now Live in unto w'^'' house 
he built addition & barne yet forasmuch as he never had from me any 

^When this was written judgment had been entered against the Charter, by 
legal process, the Freemen having on January 23, 1684, voted nemine contradicente, 
not to accede to the demand of its "full submission and entire resignation" to 
Charles II. And to make matters worse, Charles had died in February, 1685, and 
had been succeeded by a papist. 

^A broad, curved sword, used by cavalrymen. 



1 88 GENERAL GOOKIN'S WILL 

assurance or convayance thereof so had no Legall Right to that house 
therefore I thought it Expedient to bequeath this to him in my will that 
he may have as full & Legall assurance thereof as if 1 had given him a 
deed, and I order y' all y^ writeings, and Deeds y* I had of M' Collins for 
y* said house Si. Land be Delivered my sonn Samuell. Moreover I give 
unto my sonn Samuell my Rapier and my buff belt w"" silver buckles, my 
pistols and holsters, my fowling peece, and one silver wine cupp and the 
other halfe of my apparell, & to his three children each of them a silver 
spoon. 

Unto my sonn Nathaniell Gookin my house where I live, w**" y* barns 
and outhouses thereunto belonging w"" all y® orchard & gardens appertain- 
ing, w**" three cow commons and what belongs to them, I give & bequeath 
to my son Nathaniel & his Heires forever to be possessed & enjoyed by 
him after my wife's decease, unto whom I have given the premises dureing 
Life as is above expressed, but in case my son Nath: should dye w^'^out 
children and before his present wife Hannah, then my will is that the said 
houses and appurtenances be for her use Dureing her Life, and after her 
decease to be for him or them unto whome my son Nath'' shall dispose 
of them provided it be to some of his Relations by blood. Also I give 
and bequeath to my said Sonn Nath" my silver cupp called y* French 
cupp, and y* biggest of y* two other silver cupps, and a silver wine cupp. 
I mention no bed and furniture here because I gave him that at his 
marriage. Also I give him my blew couch unless sonn Daniel Desire it, 
being sutable to his bed, but if Daniel have it, he must allow Nath the full 
valine of it. Also to my sonn Nath" I give my smallest carbine and a 
gold ring w'^'' I weare on my finger, and to him I give a flock bedstead & 
appurtenances, & a brass candlestick w"" 2 lights to bee taken in peeces. 

Unto my Daughter Batter I give a silver salt seller & another silver 
cupp the lesser of the two, the bigest beeing already given to her brother 
Nath'. Also I give her after my wife's death, or to her children to whom 
she shall give it, a feather bed, bolster & furniture disposed to my wife for 
life. 

Also I give to Daughter Elizabeth one gold ring of ten shillings valine, 
and to each of her children a silver spoon. I mention no more plate bed- 
ding or other things because 1 gave her such things at her first marriage 
and besides have not been wanting to her haveing helped to breed up her 
son John Elliot for 1 7 yeares at my house & y" Colledge. 

I give to m"^ Hezekiah Usher and his wife, my good ffriends, to each 
a gold ring of ten shillings price. 

I give to son Quincy a gold ring of ten shillings valine. 

All the rest of my Estate, Reall & personall after just debts & 
funerall expences are paid are to be equally divided into six parts, two 
parts whereof I give to my Eldest sonn Daniell & his children provided 
y' what he received already at his marriage, viz, a feather bed & furniture, 
a copper kittle, a greate brass pott, a good Cow, nine sheep & some Linen 



GENERAL GOOKIN'S WILL 189 

& other things w"** I vallue at ten pounds be Receaved as a part of his 
double portion besides y^ particular Legacies above. Unto my sonn 
Sam" Gookin & his wife & children I give one sixth part, only he must 
recon to have Received in his house and land, a bed. Rug & some other 
things, about twenty pounds in part of his portion besides y" Legacies 
above. Unto my son Nathaniell Gookin I give one sixth part accompt- 
ing he hath already received a bed & furniture some Linen a jack and 
Dishes, besides his Legacies above about five pounds. Unto my Daugh- 
ter Batter, or in case of her Death to her children equally to be divided I 
give one sixth part. Unto John Elliott my Grandchild I give one sixth 
part: the Reason of this bequest and not to my other Grandchildren is 
w*** Respect to a benefit received from his Grandfather Elliott w"^ he 
ordered me to give to John of a greater value than this sixth part. 

Lastly I do hereby appoint and ordain my Deare wife Hannah and my 
three sonns Daniell, Sam" & Nath' my Executo" unto this my will & tes- 
tament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seale the 
day and yeare above written. 

A Cottishall. 

Postscript. Whereas I have given several] particular peeces of silver 
plate to my Children as is above Expressed according to y" Desire of y' 
mother Deceased, but forasmuch as 1 have necessary occasion to borrow 
of my sonn Dan" Gookin the sum of twenty five pounds in money for 
woh J ingadged by a note under my hand, most of my plate for his Secur- 
ity, but since haveing paid him fifteen pounds of that debt and there remains 
only tenn pounds due to him w'''' I order my Executo" to pay him in 
money, otherwaise each one of the Legatees of the plate whereof himselfe 
is one, to pay their proportion of that ten pounds according to the vallue 
of y" plate given them. Moreover my will is that my Deare wife Remain 
possessed of the silver cupp called the fFrench cupp given in this will to 
sonn Nath. untill the Executors get her a silver cupp or Tankard made 
and given her according to my will above Expressed. Item I give to my 
wife's sonn Thomas, one Gold Ring of ten shillings price & to Daughter 
Hannah Gookin and to Daughter Mary Savage my wife's two Daughters, 
I give to Each of them a Gold Ring, vallue tenn shillings Each Ring. 

Signed sealed & Delivered in presence of us, Sam" Andrew Sen', 
Joseph Cooke 

Daniel Gookin Sen' 

In my accompt book Intitled Ledger N° 1650 ffoll. 112 is Expressed 
an accompt of my whole Estate D"" & C' according as I could Rove at it 
besides the particular Legacies given to my Dear wife and children in 
kind. 

How long Daniel Gookin occupied the house on Holyoke 
street, where he lived during the earlier years of his residence 



I90 THE CAMBRIDGE HOMESTEAD 

in Cambridge, can only be conjectured. The probability- 
would seem to be that the house which was afterward his home 
was built by him in or about the year 1671. It was situated 
on what is now generally known in Cambridge as the "Win- 
throp Estate," on the southerly side of Arrow street ^ at the 
easterly angle of Bow street. The grounds extended back to 
the Charles River. On August 14, 1671, Daniel mortgaged 
the dwelling, styled by him as "my mansion house" which, 
together with the "barne, yards, orchard and gardens adjoyn- 
ing & belonging thereto, by estimation two acres more or less, 
twenty acres of land on the south side of Charles River and 
all other outlands, commons & wood lots in Cambridge," as 
security for a loan of j[ioo sterling obtained from Mary 
Sprague, widow, of Charlestown.^ Not unlikely the proceeds 
of this loan and the sum he received for a part of the Shaw- 
shin farm, conveyed to Robert Thompson only two days 
later,3 were used to pay for building the house. Presumably 
it was a somewhat pretentious structure for the time and place. 
Together with the outbuildings and gardens it was appraised 
in the inventory of Daniel's estate, at ^140. The language of 
the will indicates that for a time this house was occupied by 
his son Samuel. In all probability this was during the period 
between the death of his first wife and his marriage to Mrs. 
Savage. 

The entire estate was inventoried at 323/. 3J. 11^. Included 
in this total were 120 acres of land at Marlborough, 80/., 236 
acres at Worcester, 10/., 50 acres near Concord, 7/., and "one 
Negro, 7/." 

Mrs. Hannah Gookin, Daniel's widow, survived him little 
more than a year. She died October 29, i688,'» and two days 
later her remains were laid beside those of her husband in 
Cambridge burying ground. Sewall tells how on Oct. 31 he 
"went to the Funeral of Mrs. Gookin: Bearers, Mr. Dan- 

1 Formerly called the Back Lane. 

2 This loan was not released until April 5, 1684. It was then held by the estate 
of John Hull, deceased. 

^ Middlesex Deeds, xxii, 3 16. 

^This is the date given upon her tombstone. The town records give It Octo- 
ber 28. 



MRS. HANNAH GOOKIN'S FUNERAL 191 

forth, Mr. Russell, Sewall and Hutchinson, Eliakim, Mr. James 
Taylor and Mr. Edw. Bromfield. Note. The Tide was over 
the causey,! and Mrs. Willard, whom Mr. Pain carried, fell 
into the water, so that she was fain to goe to Bed presently in 
stead of going to the Grave, the Horse verg'd to the right till 
fell into the Ditch. Mr. Hutchinson's Coach-Horses also 
plung'd." 

^The causeway leading to Boston. 




CHAPTER XXII 




LTRUISM is of all the virtues the most diffi- 
cult to acquire and practice. It is also the hardest 
for the selfish multitude to fathom. Theoretic- 
ally they applaud: actually they are apt to look 
askance, — the motive being beyond their ability 
to appreciate. The brute who rides rough shod 
over his fellows, rudely trampling them under 
foot in the pursuit of his pleasure or ambition, is accorded a 
more prominent place in the temple of fame than the philan- 
thropist whose deeds, though less conspicuous, are more truly 
heroic. Had Daniel Gookin's talents been devoted to his 
own advancement, he might be better known to the world at 
large. Instead he chose the nobler part and his reputation is 
less wide than deservedly it should be. 

By the principal men among his contemporaries in the 
colony he was held in the highest respect and esteem. Rev. 
John Eliot addressed him as "worshipful and honoured Sir." 
To Rev. Thomas Mayhew he was "much honoured Captain 
Gookin," and his "worthy friend." Richard Bourne called 
him "his much esteemed friend." These were not merely the 
current forms of the day; they went beyond the requirements 
of courtesy and indicate the personal feeling of the writers. 

The truth is, that in whatever aspect the life and character 
of Daniel Gookin be regarded, he stands the test of the most 
rigid scrutiny. Close study only serves to bring the inherent 
nobility of the man into greater relief. His mind was that of 

192 



ESTIMATE OF CHARACTER 193 

a statesman. The public documents prepared by him attest 
his sagacity and skill, the breadth of his outlook, and his 
understanding of his fellow men. In all that he said and did 
the calm certainty of his judgement is a salient trait. Yet, 
though never vacillating, he was never rash: his utterances 
have the air of one open to conviction. Logical in argument, 
he was singularly dispassionate, and even where his feelings 
were most deeply engaged it was not his way to suppress 
aught that might make for an opposing view. His vindication 
of the Christian Indians is far from being a one-sided plea. 
Intent upon showing how pitiable were the sufferings of his 
wards, he was yet more intent upon telling the truth without 
diminution or enlargement. Because the shortcomings of the 
red men are not glossed over, the pathetic recital becomes 
an irresistible argument. And through it the personality of 
the author shines forth in the clear light of unconscious self- 
revelation. 

This careful avoidance of overstatement marks all of 
Daniel Gookin's writings. His "wilderness style," as he called 
it, is in marked contrast to the rambling and overloaded 
phraseology of his day. What he had to say was set down in 
a simple and direct manner. His concern was with the sub- 
stance of his remarks rather than with their form. Yet he 
was appreciative of the graces of diction, as his self-deprecatory 
phrases bear witness. And as to his fondness for literature 
we have the testimony of John Dunton, who wrote: "Those 
Bookish Gentlemen & Ladies who contributed so much to my 
well being and with whom I spent some of the most agree- 
able minutes of my whole life, those noble friends that I would 
here characterize are Christopher Usher Esq., Major Dudley, 
Major Gookins, and others/' in America. ^ 

From the inflexible firmness with which Daniel stood for 
every specific right of the colonists he has been called "the 
originator and prophet of that immortal dogma of our national 
greatness — no taxation without representation." 2 Though the 
phrase was not formulated until long after his time, and the 

'John Dunton's Life and Errors, p. 355. 
* Moses Coit Tyler, Hist. Am. Lit., i, 154. 



194 HARSH TREATMENT OF QUAKERS 

principle was "substantially established" in English constitu- 
tional history as long ago as the year 1297 by the declaration 
De Tallagio non concedendo, confirmed in 1628 by the Petition 
of Right,^ it was Daniel Gookin who, by his cogent arguments 
and fearless resistance to any encroachment upon political or 
commercial liberty did more than any other to crystallize the 
spirit of opposition that in later years found expression in the 
well-known words. To this extent, at least, he may not inaptly 
be credited with the authorship of the doctrine that is the cor- 
ner-stone of democratic government. 

To say that Daniel Gookin had his faults and weaknesses 
is only to assert that he was human. Yet so far were they out- 
weighed by his virtues, that in the perspective of more than 
two centuries it is difficult to discern them. Bigoted in his 
religious views he undoubtedly was. And in his treatment of 
the Quakers he may perhaps have justified some of their cen- 
sure. George Bishop paid his compliments to him in his book 
entitled "New England judged by the Spirit of the Lord." 
One Elizabeth Hooton (or Horton) having gone through the 
streets of Cambridge "crying Repentance through some part 
of that town, where no Friend had been before (as she heard of) 
she was there laid hold of by a blood-thirsty crew, and early in 
the morning had before Thomas Danfort and Daniel Goggings 
(two wicked and bloody magistrates of yours, of whom I have 
elsewhere spoken, and their wickedness), who committed her, 
and whose jaylor thrust her into a noisome, stinking dungeon, 
where there was nothing to lie down or sit on, and kept there 
two days and two nights, without helping her to bread or water; 
and because one Benanuel Bower (a tender Friend) brought her 
a little milk in this her great distress, wherein she was liked to 
have perished, they cast him into prison for entertaining a 
stranger, and fined him five pounds. 2 . . . They ordered her 
to be sent out of their coasts towards Rhode Island, and to be 
whipped at three towns, ten stripes at each by the way."^ 

'Hugh Chisholm. Article on "Representation" in Enc. Brit., nth Ed. 
*New England judged, etc., p. 414. 

'Ibid., p. 415. According to Sewall in his History of the Quakers, p. 327, this 
took place in 1662. 



A JUST JUDGE 195 

Returning to Cambridge she was again imprisoned, and was 
whipped there and at two other towns, as before. "This was 
the entertainment they received at Cambridge (their Univer- 
sity of Wickedness), and from Thomas Danfort and Daniel 
Goggin, magistrates, who (viz. Goggin) desired his brother 
Hathorne to send some Qualcers that way, that he might see 
them lashed, as is mentioned elsewhere in this treatise. "' 

The extravagant railing of this fanatic can hardly be taken 
literally. Still, when all allowance is made, there can be no 
doubt that the punishment inflicted was barbarous. But we 
should not measure it by the standards of to-day. Attempts 
to subvert the religious faith of the people were then regarded 
as fully justifying the cruel punishment fixed by the law. This 
law it was Daniel Gookin's duty to enforce. That while doing 
so his heart may have bled for the offender is a reasonable 
inference from his words and acts. As a judge he was just, 
uncompromising and even inexorable; yet he believed in tem- 
pering justice with mercy; "'tis not my work to judge men's 
hearts," he wrote; "that belongs to God." In his relation with 
Indians and English alike, he let it be seen plainly that firm- 
ness and kindness were not incompatible. An instance of his 
tenderness of heart is revealed by his effort to reclaim his for- 
mer slave Silvanus Warro from Captain Jonathan Wade. 

In the case of Gookin vs. Wade,^ "William Park aged 75 
years Testifieth that when Silvanus Warro was in Jaileat Bos- 
ton under the County Courts sentence to be sold for satisfac- 
tion of sd Court's sentence to pay twenty pounds to mee this 
deponent and for maintenance of his bastard child, s*^ negro 
not being able to make any satisfaction, I did advise with the 
Worsh" Majo"" Gookin what to Do with him, who Counselled 
me to send him to Virginia, and told me he would provide one 
that would carry him and put him off for me, but afterwards 
Mr. Wade presenting to buy him, I acquainted y" sd Majo"- 
Gookin with it and he did freely consent to it rather than he 
should be ship^ off, and too my best remembrance went with 
me to the Jaile & advised sd Negro to be content to live with 

^New England judged, p. 418. 
* Middlesex Court files, 1682, Dec. 



196 THE CASE OF SILVANUS WARROW 

Mr. Wade for else he must be sold out of y^ Country to satisfy 
the Court's sentence; and further told him that he might fall 
in with Mr. Wade's Negro Wench and live well, upon which 
advise with the Court order I this deponent made sale of s<^ 
Negro and further saith not." 
19: 10: 1682 

Looking toward his release, the negro had thus bound 
himself: 

"These p''sents witnesseth that I Silvanus Warro negro, in love & 
duty to my master Daniel Gookin Esq. in whose house I was borne, Bred 
& educated, & my parents Jacob & Maria Warrow ^ were his servants & 
vassals; I doe herby freely and voluntary Covenant, agree &: obleidge my 
selfe, faithfully diligently & truly to serve & obey him the said Daniell 
Gookin ; & his children as he shall please to appoint for the whole term 
of my Natural life, hee or they beeing to provide mee, meat drinke, lodging 
& apperel, or a sertene some of money by apris" yearly as may be agreed, 
& to take care of mee in sickness & in health as Christian duty requires. 
In witness hereof I the said Silvanus Warrow have to this covenant put 
my hand & seale the S**" day of November 1682." 

Major General Gookin, in his plea, closes thus: 

" Neither Deacon Parker, nor Capt. Wade are wronged By my 
endeavo" to recover my negro out of this Bondage to them or either of 
them. If any have right to him tis myself who Bred him from a child & 
his parents were my vassals & his Brother is now my servant & this 
poore negro now in his old age is willing & desirous to end his days in 
my service & my childrens as covenant shews; although now he be old 
& soe myne cannot expect any great p'fit by him, yet I cannot withdraw 
my naturall affection to him & to provide for him while he lives & so 
much y" rather I doe this Because his father was a Godly man & this 
negro died in my service, in the Glorious Name of The Father, Son & 
Holy Ghost named upon him in Baptisme. 

"I leave all I have said w''' the Honored Court & jury desiring their 
tenderness & Justice in this case & do remaine 

Your servant 

Daniel Gookin 

Camb, 19*'' of December 1682. 

As to the outward appearance of "this grand old American 
patriarch and sage," as Daniel has been aptly called,^ a little 

^They were killed by Indians, at Daniel's Maryland plantation. See supra, p. 76. 
^Moses Coit Tyler, Hist. Am. Lit., i, 154. 



CONTROVERSY WITH CALEB GRANT 197 

may perhaps be inferred from the records of a controversy he 
had with one Caleb Grant. The following warrant is preserved 
in the Middlesex Court files: 

' To the Constable of Cambridge or his Deputy. 

You are hereby required in his Majesty's name to attach the goods or 
in want thereof the person of Major Daniel Gookin of Cambridge and 
take bond of him to the value of twenty pounds with sufficient surety or 
sureties, for his appearance at the next County Court holden at Charles- 
town the 19"" day of December next then and there to answer the com- 
plaint of Caleb Grant of Watertown in an action of defamation for charging 
him for stealing of his horse and for pulling of him by the hair and neck- 
cloth and punching him with his staff and all this in the King's highway, 
and shaking his staff over his head and saying "Sirrah, get you out of the 
highway," and coming back again several rods to the said Caleb Grant 
with many threatening words, saying "I have had better men than you or 
your father to wipe my shoes;" and for all due damages. 

Hereof you are to make a true return under your hand. 

Dated this 27th of November 1676 

By the Court 

Samuel Green 

Endorsed : " I have attached the person of Major Danyell Gookin and 
taken bond of him to answer according to the tenor of this attachment. 

Andrew Bordman, Const. 
29: 9: 1676 

The same files yield a record of the testimony at the hear- 
ing of the case a month later: 

"John Johnson aged about 39 years doth say that sometime in Novem- 
ber last near to Mr. Danforth's house he saw Major Gookin with sundry 
others among whom was Caleb Grant and some of his brothers and at a 
distance I saw Major Gookin hold up his staff over the head of Caleb 
Grant and lay his hand on his shoulder but saw no blow given nor heard 
any further. 

"Major Gookin doth confess this testimony, he being greatly abused. 
19: io:76T.D.R." 

The verdict of the jury follows: 

" In the case between Caleb Grant, plaintive and Major Gookin defend- 
ant, wee find for the defendant cost of Court." 

This view of Daniel standing in the highway seems to 
imply that he was a tall, muscular man, and despite his sixty- 



198 JUSTICE SEWALL'S DREAM 

four years, more than a match for Caleb Grant and his broth- 
ers. One more word picture of Daniel, as slight and intangible 
as the other, is given by Chief Justice Sewall in his diary. 

Sabbath, Dec. 30'" 1688 

Last night I dreamed of military matters, Arms and Captains, and of 
a suddain. Major Gookin, very well clad from head to foot, and of a very 
fresh, lively countenance — his Coat and Breeches of blood-red silk, 
beckened me out of the room where I was to speak to him. I think 
'twas from the Town-house." 

The calls of duty and of friendship never found Daniel 
Gookin wanting. In all the relations of life he was ever stead- 
fast, great-hearted, scrupulously upright, high-minded and self- 
sacrificing. He was indeed, as Chief Justice Sewall said, " a right 
good man." 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Addington, Mr., 178. 
Addison, John, 67. 
Addison, Thomas, 48, 61, 62. 
Andrew, Samuel, 166, 189. 
Andros, Sir Edmond, 165. 
Angier, Edmund, 80. 
Apuldrefield, Agnes, 9. 
Ardearne, Alice, 9. 
Ardearne, Richard, 9. 

Armestronge , 47 

Ashhurst, Alice, 9. 
Atherton, Humphrey, 128. 

Bate, Thomas of Gill Abbey, 54, 55. 

Beare, Lieut., 167. 

Batter, Edmund, 179. 

Beede, Thomas, 67. 

Belcher, Andrew, 166. 

Belcher, Elizabeth, 153. 

Bellewes, the two, 51. 

Bennett, Richard, signs Nansemond peti- 
tion, 67. 

Bennett, Philip, Commissioner for Upper 
Norfolk, 65 ; carries Nansemond peti- 
tion to Boston, 68. 

Bennett, Robert, 65. 

Berk, Mr., 32. 

Berkeley, Sir William, Knt.,65, 66; treat- 
ment of Puritan ministers by, 68. 

Bernard, Robert, 67. 

Bird, see Byrd. 

Birde, Elizabeth, 20. 

Biscoe, Thomas, 180. 

Bishop, George, 194. 

Blacke, Sybbell, widow, 6, 9. 

Blank, Roger, 62. 

Boardman, Andrew, 197. 

Bond, William, 169. 

Booth, William, 55. 

Bourne, Richard, 192. 

Bower, Benanuel, 194. 

Bowes, Cordelia, 24. 

Bowes, Martin, of London, 24. 

Boyle, Richard, see Cork. 

Boyle, Robert, letters to, 119, 149, 165, 
185. 

Box, Benjamin, 62. 

Box, John, 62. 

Bradford, William, 74. 

Bradstreet, Simon, 74, 82, 172. 

Brewster, William, 74. 



Brickhed, Mr., 32. 

Bright, John, 67. 

Brocas, Capt. William, 65. 

Bromfield, Edward, 191. 

Brooke, f^lizabeth, 67. 

Brown, Thomas, 167. 

Brown, William, 172. 

Browne, Richard, 67. 

Browne, Thomas, 62. 

Buckland, John, 62. 

Bullock, Hugh, of London, 56. 

Bullock, William, 56. 

Bullock, Elizabeth, 56. 

Bullock, Robert, 56. 

Bullock, Frances, 56. 

Burbage, Capt. Thomas, 65, 75. 

Burdett, Robert, iii. 

Burly machies, Mr., 51. 

Burden, John, 62. 

Burdon, Edward, 62. 

Burton, Rev. Richard, 25. 

Byrd, Mary, wife of Daniel Gookin of 
Carrigaline, 16, 20, 26 ; in London, 50 ; 
administratrix of her husband's estate, 
54; facsimile of her signature, 54 ; death 
of, 57. 

Byrd, Peter, 20. 

Byrd, Rev. Richard, D.D. , educated at 
Cambridge, 16 ; curate at Saffron Wal- 
den, 16; tutor to William Cecil, 17; 
Sir Edward Stafford's harsh treatment 
of, 18 ; letter to Lord Burghley, 18-20 ; 
archdeacon of Cleveland, 20 ; Canon 
of Canterbury Cathedral, 20 ; death of, 
20 ; his children, 20 ; his wife Elizabeth 
Meye, 21. 

Byrd, Thomas, of Saffron Walden, 17. 

Carr, Sir Robert, 109, no. 

Carr, William, 77. 

Carrigaline, castle and manor of, granted 
Sir Warham St. Leger, 3 1 ; sold to 
Thomas Petley, 31; bought from Pet- 
ley by Daniel Gookin, 31; sold to 
Lord Cork, 33 ; leased to Thomas 
Daunt, 51. 

Carsley, Henry, 47. 

Cartwright, George, 109. 

Cecil, William, Earl of Exeter, tutored 
by Richard Byrd, 17; becomes Ro- 
man Catholic, 18. 



201 



202 



INDEX 



Champney, Richard, 80. 

Champney, Samuel, 77. 

Chandler, John, 63, 64. 

Chapman, Phillip, 48, 62. 

Chauncey, Charles, 74, 107, 113. 

Child, George, 62. 

Child, Major John, 181. 

Chisman, John, 48. 

Chosumphs, John, 182. 

Christian Indians, see Praying Indians. 

Clarke, Capt. John, 45, 46. 

Clarke, William, 47, 62. 

Clayton, Sir Randal, 33, 51, 52. 

Codne, Mary, 67. 

Coe, Thomas, 48. 

Cokyn family, 3-4. 

Cokyn, William, 3. 

Cole, Peter, 93. 

Cole, William, 63, 64. 

Colkin, John, 4. 

CoUacot, Bethiah, 180. 

Collacot, Richard, 180. 

Collacot, Thomazin, 180. 

Collins, Ed\Yard, 78,80, 81. 

Combe, Christian, 9. 

Condon, Jordan, 34, 54. 

Condon, Richard, 34. 

Cooke, Edward, 67. 

Cooke, Capt. George, 79. 

Cooke, Joseph, 189. 

Cooney, William, 62. 

Cooper, see Cowper. 

Copleston, Adam de, of Copleston, Dev- 
on, 25 ; arms of, 25. 

Copleston, Thomas, of Luckcombe, Som- 
erset, 25. 

Copleston, Margaret, 25. 

Cork, Richard Boyle, First Earl of, 32; 
clash with Daniel Gookin, 32; buys 
Carrigaline from and leases it to Daniel 
Gookin, 33 ; perfects title, 44 ; buys the 
lease, 50. 

Coslay, Henry, 62. 

Cotton, Rev. John, 73, 74, 186. 

Cowper (or Cooper), Rolsert, 6, 

Crew, Randall, 65. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 81, 85, 86, 87, 92, 105, 
168, 169. 

Croney, William, 47. 

Curtis, Ephraim, 167. 

Curtis, John, 48, 62. 

Curtis, Thomas, 47, 62. 

Cutler, Capt., 158. 

Cutts, Capt. John, 76. 

Danforth, Thomas, friendship with Dan- 
iel Gookin, 80 ; with Daniel Gook- 



in upholds charter privileges, 108-110; 
signs letter to Boyle, 122 ; incurs hos- 
tility of common people by defending 
Daniel Gookin, 152; his life threat- 
ened, 152, 153; run down in Boston 
harbor, 155; result of 1676 election, 
156; assaulted by John Jones, 160; with 
Gookin leads in controversy with the 
crown, 172,177; at Mrs. Hannah Gook- 
in's funeral, 190 ; railed at by George 
Bishop, 194. 

Danson, George, 169. 

Darrell, Philip, 54, 55. 

Daunt, Thomas of Tracton Abbey, 51. 

Davenport, Rev. John, 74, 108. 

Davis, Margarett, 67. 

Davis, Mr., 104. 

Delaware, Esay, (Delywarr, Isaye)47, 62. 

de Cogan, Milo, 31. 

de Copleston, see Copleston. 

de Earde, Isabel, 9. 

de Earde, Robert, 9. 

Denne, Amy, 7. 

Denne,Catherine,marriageto JohnGook- 
in, 7 ; her ancestry, 7-9 ; death of, 30. 

Denne, EUys (Alice), 6. 

Denne, Elyzabethe, 7. 

Denne, pedigree, 7-9 ; arms of, 9. 

Denne, William, of Kingston, Kent, 7. 

Dennison, Capt. George, iii. 

de Toketon, see Toketon. 

Dew, Thomas, 65. 

Dolling, Mary, marriage to Daniel 
Gookin, 64 ; in list of persons trans- 
ported to Virginia by Daniel, 67 ; ad- 
mitted First Church, Boston, 73 ; dis- 
missed to Cambridge, 79 ; relieves sick 
Indians, 159; death of, 179. 

Dryland, arms of, 25. 

Dryland, Elizabeth, 25. 

Dudley, Joseph, 156, 160, 172, 178, 181, 

183, 193- 
Dudley, Thomas, 74. 
Dunster, Henry, 74, 79. 
Dunton, John, 193. 
Durrant, Amy, 4, 5, 6. 
Durrant, Elizabeth, 6. 
Durrant, Jane, 4, 6. 
Durrant, John, of Littlebourne, 5; arms 

of, 5; pedigree of descendants, 6. 
Durrant, John, of Howlets, 4-6. 
Durrant, Mildred, 6. 

Ebsworth, Anne, 47. 
Ebsworth, Anthonie, 47. 
Edgeworth, Francis, 36, 44. 
Edgeworth, Rev. Lovel, 37. 



INDEX 



203 



Edgeworth, Maria, 37. 

Edolph, Jane, 10. 

Edolph, Simon, 10. 

Eliakim, Mr., 191. 

Eliot, Rev. John, friendship with Daniel 
Gookin, 73 ; in Indian work assisted 
by Gookin, 83, 126; studies Indian 
Language, 127; preaches to Indians, 
127 ; on his petition Gookin appointed 
Superintendent of Praying Indians, 
129; weary journeys, 130; letter to 
Commissioners of the Colonies, 13 1; 
journey to Nipmuck country with 
Gookin, 132-136; aspersions by popu- 
lace during Philip's war, 144-155 ; vis- 
its Nashobah Indians, 150; run down 
in Boston Harbor, 155; records removal 
of Indians from Deer Island, 158; re- 
sumes missionary work, 159; letters to 
Boyle, Robert, 149, 165, 185 ; his re- 
spect for Daniel Gookin, 192. 

Eliot, Rev. John, Jr., 179. 

Eliot, John 3d, 179, 181, 188, 189. 

Elgar, Richard, 6. 

Ellis, William, 62. 

Elsworth, Ann, 62. 

Elsworth, Christ, 62. 

Endicott, John, 100, in. 

Fauntleroy, arms of, 25. 
Fauntleroy, John, 25. 
Fauntleroy, Margaret, 25. 
Fenton, Lady Alice, 34, 35. 
Ferrar, John, 39, 46. 

Field, Thomas, 62. 

Fisher, Lieut. Joshua, 166. 

Fiske, David, Tj. 

Fiske, John, 70. 

Fitz Edmond, David Terry, 33. 

Floyd, Richard, 83. 

Foockes, William, 47. 

Foster, Hopestill, 109. 

French, William, 83. 

Frost, Edmund, 80. 

Garner, John, 62. 

Garret, James, master of the Hopewell, 

loi, 104 ; lost at sea, 105. 
Gedney, Bartholomew, 125, 178. 
Gibbons, Major, 137. 
Godby, Joane, 48. 
Goffe, Edward, 80. 
Goffe, Col. Edward, 106, 107, no. 
Goffe, Samuel, 182. 
Gookin, Amy, dau. of Thomas, 6. 
Gookin, Amy, dau. of John, 12. 



Gookin, Anne, 12. 

Gookin, arms of, 12-14. 

Gookin, Arnold, 3, 4. 

Gookin, Charles B., 183. 

Gookin, Cicely, 7. 

Gookin, Daniel, son of John, 12. 

Gookin, Daniel, of Carrigaline, birth, 12 ; 
marriage, 16; removal to Munster, 30; 
buys Carrigaline, 31; clash with Lord 
Cork, 32 ; sells Carrigaline to Cork and 
takes lease, 33 ; the Longford planta- 
tion, 35; sells to Francis Edgeworth, 
36; contract with Virginia Company, 
38; sails for Virginia, 40 ; refuses to 
obey concentration order, 42; returns 
to England, 43; his income from Car- 
rigaline, 45; sends The Providence to 
Virginia,45; servantsat Marie'sMount, 
47 ; sells lease of Carrigaline, 50; ob- 
tains grant of St. Brandan's Isle, 52; 
decease, 54 ; dealings with Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, 1 17. 

Gookin, Major General Daniel, descent, 
3; seal used by, 14; birth, 61 ; grant of 
Virginia lands to, 62 ; lists of colonists 
transported to Virginia by, 62, 67; mar- 
riage to Mary Dolling, 64; in Virginia, 
64-66; another grant, 66; signs Nanse- 
mond petition, 67; acquires Maryland 
plantation, 70 ; removes to Massachu- 
setts, 71 ; friendship with John Eliot, 
73; removal to Cambridge, 78; captain 
of trained band, 79; deputy to General 
Court, 81 ; visits England, 81 ; Speaker 
of General Court, 82; Assistant, 82, 85; 
appointed Cromwell's agent to colon- 
ize Jamaica, 87-91 ; letters to Thurloe, 
93-102; sails for England, 104; Collec- 
tor of Customs at Dunkirk, 105; Depu- 
ty Treasurer at War, 106 ; return to 
New England, 106; pretended effort to 
apprehend regicides, 108 ; opposes en- 
croachments on chartered rights, 109 ; 
refuses to answer Commissioners, no; 
his many activities, n4; declines to act 
as licenser of the press, n5 ; conducts 
negotiations for purchase of Maine, 
117-125 ; in charge of Praying Indians 
128; journey to Nipmuck country, 
132-136; letter to Governor Prince, 1 38; 
rage of populace against him during 
Philip's War, 145-155 ; his life threat- 
ened, 152; run down in Boston har- 
bor, 155; appointed Major, 156; re- 
sumes Indian work, 159; re-elected 
Assistant, 160 ; his books about the 
Indians, 161 ; his History of New Eng- 



204 



INDEX 



land, 162-165 ; founds town of Wor- 
cester, 166-170 ; leads in controversy 
with the crown, 172 ; appointed Major 
General, 177 ; death of his wife, 179 ; 
his children, 179 ; marriage to Hannah 
Savage, 181 ; last illness and death, 184; 
his will, 186-189 ; his homestead, 189; 
estimate of his character, 193 ; treat- 
ment of the Quakers, 194 ; the case 
of Silvanus Warrow, 195 ; controversy 
with Caleb Grant, 197; Justice Sewall's 
dream, 198. 

Gookin, Daniel, second son of General 
Gookin, 180. 

Gookin, Rev. Daniel, of Sherborn, third 
son of General Gookin, birth of, 81 ; 
biographical sketch of, 180; preaches to 
the Indians, 184; bequests in his fa- 
ther's will, 187-189. 

Gookin, Daniel, son of Daniel of Sher- 
born, 187. 

Gookin, Daniel, of Worcester, 170. 

Gookin, Edward, 29, 54, 56, 85, 105, 106. 

Gookin, Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas, 6. 

Gookin, Elizabeth, dau. of John, 12. 

Gookin, Elizabeth, dau. of General 
Gookin, 79, 179, 180, 188. 

Gookin, Hannah, 180. 

Gookin, Jhoane, 7. 

Gookin, John, of Ripple Court, parent- 
age, 6 ; marries Catherine Denne, 7 ; 
removes to Appleton, Kent, 10 ; pur- 
chases Little Betteshanger, 10 ; sub- 
scribes to Spanish Armada defense 
loan, II; purchases Manor of Ripple 
Court, II; children, 12; arms of 
i2; removal to Ireland, 30 ; living at 
Carrigaline, 33 ; death of, 49. 

Gookin, John, of Northbourne Kent, 12, 
IS, 81. 

Gookin, John, grandson of John, sells 
Ripple Court, 11 ; dovecote at Ripple 
Court, built by, 12; royalist and resi- 
ding in France, 81. 

Gookin, Capt. John, granted lands in 
Virginia, 57; marriage to Mrs. Sarah 
(Offley) Thorowgood, 57; decease, 
57; inscription on tombstone, 58; joins 
in conveyance of Marie's Mount, 63 ; 
complains of Indian outrages, 66. 

Gookin, John, of St. Dunstan's in the 
East, 56. 

Gookin, Katherine, 12. 

Gookin, Margaret, 10, 12. 

Gookin, Mary, dau. of John, 10, 12. 

Gookin, Mary, 56. 

Gookin, Mary, dau. of Capt. John, 57. 



Gookin, Mary, dau. of General Gookin, 

79 ; Marriage to Edmund Batter, 179 ; 

bequest in her father's will, 188, 189. 
Gookin, Mary, wife of General Gookin, 

see Dolling. 
Gookin, Rev. Nathaniel, 181, 188, 189. 
Gookin, Richard, of Cork, 29, 54, 56. 
Gookin, Richard, of Dedham, 165. 
Gookin, Capt. Robert, 81, 168. 
Gookin, Samuel, of London, 81, 168. 
Gookin, Samuel, eldest son of General 

Gookin, 67, 71, 179. 
Gookin, Samuel, fourth son of General 

Gookin, 83, 167, 180, 182, 187-189. 
Gookin, Solomon, 85, 180. 
Gookin, Thomas, of Bekesbourne, 4, 5, 6, 
Gookin, Thomas, of Ripple Court, 3, 12, 

13, 15,49- 

Gookin, Thomas, of Harbledown, 10, 
13,81. 

Gookin, Thomazin, 6. 

Gookin, variant spellings, 4-5. 

Gookin, SirVincent,birthof, 12; settles in 
Ireland, 29; executor of his father's 
will, 49; high sheriff of Cork, 52; 
knighted by Lord Cork, 52; trustee for 
children of his brother Daniel, 55; liv- 
ing at Bitton in Gloucestershire, 57. 

Gookin, Vincent, appointed Commission- 
er of the Revenue for Ireland, 81 ; 
member first Protectorate Parliament, 
86; author of "The Great Case of 
Transplantation in Ireland discussed," 
86; acquaintance with Cromwell, 87; 
offices to which he was appointed by 
Cromwell, 168. 

Gorges, Ferdinando, 117. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 51, 52, 117. 

Granger, William, 62. 

Grant, Caleb, 197, 198. 

Grant, Thomas, of Eythorne, 12. 

Green, Samuel, 197. 

Griffin, Charles, 62. 

Griffin, Rise, 47. 

Griffin, Richard, 48. 

Grout, F., 183. 

Hammond, Capt., 158. 

Harris, Elinor, 47 

Hastings, John, 182 

Hastings, Walter, 77. 

Haynes, John, 74, 169. 

Heath, Ferdinand, 67. 

Henchman, Capt. Daniel, 143, 150, 151, 

154, 167, 168. 
Hever, John, of Cranbrooke, Kent, 9. 
Hever, Margaret, 9. 



INDEX 



205 



Higginson, Capt. Humphrey, 65. 
Hill, John, 65. 
Hillier, John, 62. 
Hinkley, Gov., 178. 
Hoar, Joanna, 180. 
Hobart, William, 43. 
Hooker, Thomas, 74. 
Hooker, William, 62. 
Hopkinson, Daniel, 62. 
Horton, Elizabeth, 194. 
Hough, Francis, 65. 
Hull, John, 67. 
Hunting, Capt. Samuel, 154. 
Hutchinson, Capt., 144, 184. 
Hutchinson, Mr., 191. 
Hymerford, Margaret, 26. 
Hymerford, William, 25. 

Ibottson, Elizabeth, 48. 
Ince, Mr., 104 

Jackson, Edward, 80, 81. 

Jackson, John, 80. 

Jackson, Richard, 80. 

James, Rev. Thomas, 68, 69. 

Jamaica, conquest by Penn and Venables, 
86 ; Cromwell turns to New England 
colonists, 87; Daniel Gookin appointed 
his agent, 87 ; mortality among garri- 
son, 92, 99, loi; fate of planters from 
Nevis, I02; condition remedied by 
Gov. Brayne, 103. 

Jewell, William, 62. 

Jewell, see Joule. 

Johnson, Capt. Edward, 79, 166. 

Johnson, Cornelius, 41. 

Johnson, John, 197. 

Johnson, William, 125. 

Jones, Hugh, 62. 

Jones, Roger, 64. 

Jones, John, 160. 

Joule (or Jewell), Ingram, 12. 

Kattenanit, Job, 150, 151, 152. 
Kemp, Richard, 65. 
Kenley, Charles, 62. 
Kittall, Jane, 9. 
Knowles, Rev. John, 68, 69. 

Lanmore, Marsoy, 67. 

Lawson, Lieut. Col. Anthony, 57. 

Leader, Richard, 82. 

Leverett, John, no, 119. 

Long, Thomas, 6. 

Longe, William, 47, 62. 

Longford County, plantation of, by Eng- 
lish, 35 ; grief of the Irish proprietors, 
36. 

Longhorne, Thomas, 77. 



Lynd, Capt. Joseph, 169. 
Lynde, Symon, 113. 

Manst, Wal., 62. 

Marie's Mount plantation, named after 
Mary Gookin, 44 ; Servants at, 47 ; 
conveyance of part of, 48, 61 ; remain- 
der conveyed to John Chandler, 63 ; 
resold to Benedict Stafford, 64 ; title 
escheated, 64; granted to William 
Cole, 63, 64. 

Marfin, Griffin, '62. 

Mason, Ann, 56. 

Mason, EUinor, 56. 

Mason, Mr., 178. 

Mason, Robert, 67. 

Mather, Cotton, doggerel about Gookin 
and Tompson, 69, 70. 

Mather, Richard, 74. 

Mathewes, Marmaduke, 82. 

Maverick, Samuel, 109. 

May, John, Bishop of Carlisle, see Meye. 

Mayhew, Rev. Thomas, Jr., 104, 128, 
192. 

Marsh, John, of Marton, Kent, 10. 

Marsh, Richard, 10. 

Marsh, Thomas, 10. 

Marsh, Thomas, Jr., 12. 

Martin, Richard, 20. 

Meye, Anne, wife of Rev. Richard Pil- 
kington, 25. 

Meye, Arms of, 21. 

Meye, Elizabeth, 21, 24, 26. 

Meye, Bishop John, birth of, 21 ; arms of, 
21; education at Cambridge, 21; Mas- 
ter of St. Catherine's Hall, 21 ; Rector 
of North Creake, 21 ; Vice Chancellor 
of Cambridge, 22 ; Bishop of Carlisle, 
22; criticised by the Puritans, 23 ; death 
of, 24; children of, 24-25. 

Meye, John, of Shouldham Abbey, 24. 

Meye, William, Dean of St. Paul's, 21. 

Miller, Joseph, 151. 

Milton, Thomas, 12, 49. 

Mitchell, Rev. Jonathan, 107, 115. 

Moqua, John, 133. 

Morgan, Edmond, 47. 

Morgan, Edward, 62. 

Morgan, John, 67. 

Morgan, Phillips, 62. 

Moseley, Capt. Samuel, 147. 

Moseley, Capt. William, 57. 

Mosley, Joseph, 47, 62. 

Nansemond petition, signed by Daniel 
Gookin and others, 67 ; carried to Bos- 
ton by Philip Bennett, 68. 



2o6 



INDEX 



Nesutan, Job, 127, 182. 

Newce, Capt. Sir William, 39, 40, 55. 

Nichols, Col. Richard, 109, no. 

Norman, Austin, 62. 

Norman, Henry, 62. 

Norman, Peter, 62. 

Noyes, Lieut. Thomas, 166 

Norton, Rev. John, 74, 107. 

Offley, Robert, 57. 

Offley, Sarah, 57, 58. 

Oliver, Capt. James, 147, 148, 149. 

Oliver, Thomas, 159. 

Osborne, Sir Edward, 57. 

Pachanaharm, John, 182. 

Page, John, 64. 

Pain, Mr., 191. 

Paine, William, df. 

Park, William, 195. 

Parker, Deacon, 196. 

Parkman, Elias, 76. 

Parks, William, 109. 

Parratt, John, 47. 

Pelham, Mr., 104. 

Pensint, William, 62. 

Perkins, James, 67. 

Perkins, Thomas, ^"J. 

Petley, John, 31. 

Petley, Thomas, 31,45, £0. 

Petley, William, 51. 

Pierce, John, 104, 106, no. 

Pilkington, Rev. Riciiard, 25. 

Pitt, Mrs. Francis, of Stepney, 56. 

Plaisted, Roger, 113. 

Pratt, Edvpard, 184. 

Pray, Ephraim, 149. 

Pray, Mary, 149. 

Praying Indians, Daniel Gookin Super- 
intendent of, 128; colonists' brutal 
treatment of, 137; warning of Philip's 
War given by, 141 ; rage of the people 
against, 144; confined to their villages, 
144; removed to Deer Island, 149; 
company of, under Capt. Hunting, re- 
lieves Sudbury, 154; removed from 
Deer Island, 158. 

Prentice, Thomas, in, n3, 143, 158, 
167, 169. 

Price, Henry, 62. 

Prichard, Capt., 81. 

Power, David, 34, 54. 

Power, William, 35, 55. 

Pynchon, John, 74, 122, 178. 

Quannapohitt, James, 151. 
Quincy, Col. Edmund, 180, 188. 
Quincy, Elizabeth, 180. 



Randall, Daniel R., 70. 

Randolph, Edward, 123, 171, 177, 178. 

Remington, Martha, 153. 

Richards, Major, 178. 

Richards, William, 62. 

Richison, Amos, 113. 

Ringall, Thomas, 67. 

Ripple Court, Manor of, acquired by 

John Gookin, n; history of, 11. 
Roe, John, 62. 

Rowlandson, Rev. Joseph, 154. 
Russell, Rev. Noadiah, 179. 
Russell, Richard, 122, 178, 191. 

Sanders, John, 7. 

Saunders, Tobias, in. 

Savage, Habijah, 181. 

Savage, Hannah, wife of General Gookin, 
181, 186, 187, 189, 190. 

Savage, Hannah, wife of Rev. Nathaniel 
Gookin, 181, 188. 

Savage, Mary, 181, 189. 

Savage, Thomas, 189. 

Savage, Major Thomas, 142, 153, 156. 

Scott, John, 62. 

Scott, Richard, 153. 

Searle, Daniel, 181. 

Sears, Mary, 181. 

Sewall, Chief Justice Samuel, extracts 
from diary, 178; goes to see General 
Gookin upon his death bed, 184 ; pall- 
bearer at funeral of Mrs. Hannah 
Gookin, 190 ; his dream of General 
Gookin, 198. 

Shepperd, William, 67. 

Sherwood, Peter, 47. 

Sill, Capt. Joseph, 157. 

Sladen, John Baker, n. 

Sladen, Col. Joseph, 11. 

Shepard, Rev. Thomas, 74, 80, 81. 

Smith, Capt. 178. 

Smith, John, 41, 42, 43. 

Smith, Robert, 47, 62. 

Smith, William, 47, 62. 

Southworth, Mr., 138, 139. 

Speen, James, 135, 136. 

Sprague, Capt., 147. 

Spry, Oliver, 65. 

Stafford, Capt. Benedict, 64. 

Stearns, Samuel, 180. 

Stearns, Hannah, 180. 

Stedman, John, 79. 

St. Leger, Sir Warham, 31. 

St. Leger, Sir Warham, 3d, 32, 45. 

Stockdale, Mr., 51, 52. 

Stoughton, William, 122, 155, 172, 183. 

Streets, William, 48. 



INDEX 



207 



Swift, Jane, 9. 
Swinforde, Clement, 12. 
Swinforde, William, 6. 
Syme, Alice, 6. 
Syme, Robert, 6. 
Symonds, Samuel, 122. 

Taylor, James, 191. 

Thomas, John, 62. 

Thompson, Robert, 190. 

Thorowgood, Capt. Adam, 57. 

Thurlby, John, 48. 

Thurloe, John, Daniel Gookin's letters 

to,93,94, 95,98; 100, 102. 
Thurston, Jane, wife of Thomas Gookin 

of Ripple Court, 15; litigation with 

brothers-in-law, 15, 49. 
Thurston, Richard, 15. 
Toketon, Elphege de, 9. 
Toketon, Sir William de, 9. 
Tompson, Rev. William, 68, 69. 
Torey, Joseph, 112. 
Tufton, Agnes, 7, 9. 
Tufton, Nicholas, 7. 
Tufton pedigree, 9. 
Turner, John, 51. 
Tyng, Edward, 122, 148, 181. 

Usher, Christopher, 193. 
Usher, Hezekiah, 104, 150, 188. 

Vaughan, Christ., 67. 

Virginia Company, contract with Daniel 
Gookin, 38, 59; the Council recom- 
mends him to colonial authorities, 40 ; 
rejoicing caused by Daniel's arrival in 
Virginia, 41 ; revocation of the char- 
ter, 49. 

Vowell, Amy, 25, 26. 

Vowell, arms of, 25. 

Vowell, Richard, 25. 

Vowell, William of Creake Abbey, 26. 



Vowell, William of Wells, Somerset, 25. 

Wade, Capt. Jonathan, 195, 196. 

Wadsworth, William, 47, 62. 

Walker, Roger, 47, 62. 

Ward, Nathaniel, 74. 

Warren, Thomas, 67. 

Warrow, Jacob, 67, 75, 196. 

Warrow, Maria, 196. 

Warrow, Silvanus, 195, 196. 

Wayte, Jo., 125. 

Webb, William, 67. 

West, Governor, 178. 

West, Capt. John, 65. 

Whalley, General, 106, 107, 1 10. 

Wharton, Mr., 178. 

Whitfild, Gilbert, 47, 62. 

Wilcox, Roger, 67. 

Wildly, William, 67. 

Willard, Mrs., 191. 

Willard, Rev. Samuel, 181. 

Willard, Simon, 1 1 1, 144, 150. 

Williams, Roger, 74. 

Wilson, Rev. William, 17. 

Wing, John, 169. 

Winthrop, Capt., 178. 

Winthrop, Dean, 113. 

Winthrop, John, 68, 74, 75. 

Wiseman, William, 51. 

Wood, Thomas, 38. 

Worcester, settlement projected, 166 ; 
Daniel Gookin and others view site, 
167; settlement interrupted by Philip's 
war, 167; new settlement begun, 168; 
name bestowed, 168; conjectured rea- 
sons for the name, 168-169. 

Wormley, Capt. Christ., 65. 

Woodhall, William, 17. 

Wyatt, Gov., 43,46. 

Yardley, Col. Francis, 58. 
Yardley, Sir George, 58. 



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